Ultraviolet irradiation apparatus and ultraviolet irradiation method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022280666-A1
Application number	US-202017630409-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 30, 2020
Priority date	Jul 31, 2019
Publication date	Sep 8, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

An ultraviolet irradiation device includes an inner cylinder forming a treatment flow path, an inflow portion allowing the object to flow into the treatment flow path, an outer cylinder accommodating the inner cylinder, a light emitting element irradiating the object passing through the treatment flow path with ultraviolet light, an O-ring dividing a space provided between an outer circumferential surface of the inner cylinder and an inner circumferential surface of the outer cylinder into a first chamber through which the object before ultraviolet irradiation passes and a third chamber through which the object after the ultraviolet irradiation passes, and a second chamber communicating with the first chamber through communication holes. The second chamber communicates with the treatment flow path through a plate.

First claim

1 . An ultraviolet irradiation device comprising:
a cylindrical portion configured to form a cylindrical treatment flow path extending in a longitudinal direction and have at least one open end; an inflow portion configured to allow an object to flow into the treatment flow path from the open end side of the cylindrical portion; a light emitting element provided at least one end of the cylindrical portion and configured to irradiate the object passing through the treatment flow path with ultraviolet light; an outer cylinder configured to accommodate the cylindrical portion, in which a space is provided between an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion and an inner circumferential surface of the outer cylinder; a dividing member in which at least a portion in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion and a portion in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the outer cylinder are made of an elastic member, the dividing member dividing the space into an inflow-side region through which the object before being irradiated with the ultraviolet light passes and an outflow-side region through which the object after being irradiated with the ultraviolet light passes; and a retention portion configured to communicate with the inflow-side region through a first communication portion, wherein the inflow-side region communicates with the inflow portion, and the retention portion and the treatment flow path communicate with each other through a second communication portion.

2 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 1 , wherein a part of the outer cylinder in contact with the dividing member has an inner diameter smaller than an inner diameter of an other part of the outer cylinder.

3 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 1 , wherein the outer cylinder has an open end on the same side as the open end of the cylindrical portion.

4 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 1 , wherein the retention portion is a circular cylindrical region communicating with the open end of the cylindrical portion and formed on an extension of the cylindrical portion; wherein the first communication portion includes a plurality of communication holes arranged along a circumferential direction of a side surface of the retention portion; and wherein the inflow-side region and the retention portion communicate with each other through the first communication portion, in which a total area ratio of a sum of opening areas of the plurality of communication holes included in the first communication portion on the side surface of the retention portion to an area of an entire side surface of the retention portion is from 0.03 to 0.8.

5 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 3 , comprising a lid unit configured to cover the open end of the outer cylinder, the lid unit including a first protrusion inserted into a gap between the cylindrical portion and the outer cylinder.

6 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 5 , wherein the lid unit includes a second protrusion inside the first protrusion, the first protrusion and the second protrusion being connected to or separated from each other.

7 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 6 , wherein the first communication portion includes a plurality of communication holes, the inflow-side region and the retention portion communicating with each other through the first communication portion; wherein the second protrusion is shorter in height than the first protrusion, and the second protrusion has a tip facing an end face of the cylindrical portion, the first protrusion being formed with a plurality of slits reaching from a tip of the first protrusion halfway through the second protrusion as seen from the side surface of the first protrusion, and a portion of the second protrusion where the first protrusion and the second protrusion overlap being formed with slits overlapping with the slits formed in the first protrusion; and wherein the plurality of communication holes of the first communication portion are defined by the plurality of slits formed in the first protrusion and the second protrusion and the cylindrical portion.

8 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 5 , wherein the light emitting element is provided only at one end portion of the cylindrical portion; and wherein the lid unit is provided at an end portion of the outer cylinder on an opposite side of the end portion where the light emitting element is provided.

9 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 1 , wherein the second communication portion includes one or more plates, each of the plates being formed with a plurality of communication holes opening between front and back surfaces of the plate, in which a total area per plate of the plurality of communication holes formed in the plates to a cross section in a direction perpendicular to a flow in the treatment flow path is from 0.05 to 0.8.

10 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 9 , wherein the plates are also formed with the communication holes outside a concentric circle having a diameter 0.85 times an inner diameter of the treatment flow path.

11 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 9 , wherein radially inner ends of the communication holes formed in outermost circumferences of the plates are formed at a position less than the inner diameter of the treatment flow path as seen from the longitudinal direction of the treatment flow path.

12 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 1 , wherein the outflow-side region communicates with the treatment flow path, and the object after passing through the treatment flow path flows into the outflow-side region.

13 . An ultraviolet irradiation method configured to allow an object to flow from an inflow portion into a treatment flow path formed inside a cylindrical portion having one open end and extending in a longitudinal direction and irradiating the object passing through the treatment flow path with ultraviolet light, the method comprising:
interposing, between an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion and an inner circumferential surface of an outer cylinder accommodating the cylindrical portion, a dividing member in which at least a portion in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion and a portion in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the outer cylinder are made of an elastic member, the dividing member dividing a space between the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion and the inner circumferential surface of the outer cylinder into two regions; using a region of the two regions on the open end side of the cylindrical portion as an inflow-side region through which the object before being irradiated with the ultraviolet light passes and interposing the inflow-side region and a retention portion downstream the inflow-side region in a flow path of the object from the inflow portion to the treatment flow path; and allowing the object to pass through the inflow-side region and the retention portion and then flow into the treatment flow path.

14 . The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of communication portions provided in series to each other in the flow path of the object between the inflow portion and the treatment flow path, the plurality of communication portions including the first communication portion and the second communication portion, and each of the plurality of communication portions including a plurali

Assignees

• Asahi Chemical Ind

Inventors

• Kodama Atsushi
• Sugiyama Sho
• Kishi Hiroyuki
• Ito Naoto
• Jinno Sumire
• Baba Ryosuke
• ANDO Suguru
• Chiba Hiroshi

Classifications

• A61L2103/05

  Living organisms or biological materials · CPC title

• A61L2/10 Primary

  Ultraviolet [UV] radiation · CPC title

• A61L2/26

  Accessories · CPC title

• B01J19/123

  Ultraviolet light · CPC title

• C02F1/325

  Irradiation devices or lamp constructions · CPC title