US-20260124335-A1 - MOBILE DECONTAMINATION APPARATUS

US20260124335A1US 20260124335 A1US20260124335 A1US 20260124335A1US-20260124335-A1

Abstract

A mobile decontamination apparatus configured to uniformly decontaminate one or a plurality of target rooms and equipment therein. The apparatus includes a decontamination solution discharging device and an indoor mobile device. The discharging device includes a decontamination solution tank; one or more mist generating devices configured to generate a decontamination solution mist from a decontamination solution; a driving circuit configured to control a drive of the mist generating device; and one or more mist discharge ports configured to discharge the decontamination agent mist generated by the mist generating device into the inside of the room targeted to be decontaminated. The indoor mobile device identifies a travel path disposed inside the room targeted to be decontaminated and includes a traveling device configured to cause the decontamination solution discharging device to travel along the travel path.

Inventors

Koji Kawasaki
Daisuke Kakuda
Yoshitaka Ogata
Kazuhiko Kitahora
Haruka Futamura
Zhiqiang Guo
Tsukasa Kitano

Assignees

AIREX CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20221018
Priority Date: 20211025

Claims (12)

1 . A mobile decontamination apparatus configured to decontaminate an inside of a room targeted to be decontaminated with the use of a decontamination agent mist, the mobile decontamination apparatus comprising: a decontamination solution discharging device that comprises: a decontamination solution tank; one or more mist generating devices configured to generate the decontamination agent mist from a decontamination solution; a driving circuit configured to control a drive of the mist generating device; and one or more mist discharge ports configured to discharge the decontamination agent mist generated by the mist generating device into the inside of the room targeted to be decontaminated, and an indoor mobile device that comprises: a travel path disposed inside the room targeted to be decontaminated; and a traveling device configured to cause the decontamination solution discharging device to travel along the travel path.
2 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a decontamination solution supply device including an external storage tank that is configured to store the decontamination solution, and a solution supply pipe configured to transfer the decontamination solution between the external storage tank and the decontamination solution discharging device, wherein the decontamination solution supply device comprises a weighing device and a solution supply pump, and is configured to weigh and supply a predetermined amount of the decontamination solution to the decontamination solution discharging device through the solution supply pipe.
3 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising: an operation control device configured to control an operation of the decontamination solution supply device, the decontamination solution discharging device, and the indoor mobile device, wherein the operation control device is configured: to control, in accordance with a predetermined program, the weighing device and the solution supply pump included in the decontamination solution supply device to weigh a predetermined amount of decontamination solution and to adjust an amount of the decontamination solution supplied to the decontamination solution discharging device, to control the driving circuit included in the decontamination solution discharging device to adjust an amount of the discharged decontamination agent mist, and to control the traveling device included in the indoor mobile device to adjust a position of the decontamination solution discharging device inside the room targeted to be decontaminated, thereby controlling the position of the room targeted to be decontaminated and an amount of the mist discharged at the position.
4 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising: a solution supply station configured to temporarily store the predetermined amount of decontamination solution disposed in a pipeline of the solution supply pipe for communicating between the external storage tank and the decontamination solution discharging device, wherein the operation control device is configured to control a solution supply from the decontamination solution supply device to the solution supply station and a solution supply from the solution supply station to the decontamination solution discharging device.
5 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the decontamination solution tank included in the decontamination solution discharging device is an exchangeable cartridge-type tank filled with a predetermined amount of the decontamination solution.
6 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the decontamination solution discharging device or the indoor mobile device includes an exchangeable cartridge-type power supply device.
7 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the mist generating device is an ultrasonic atomizer comprising a piezoelectric vibrator and a porous vibration plate with a plurality of micropores and configured to atomize the decontamination solution by vibrating the piezoelectric vibrator, the micropores being dimensioned to pass through the porous vibration plate between front and back surfaces thereof, wherein the porous vibration plate constitutes the mist discharge port.
8 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the mist generating device is an ultrasonic atomizer comprising a piezoelectric vibrator and a porous vibration plate with a plurality of micropores and configured to atomize the decontamination solution by vibrating the piezoelectric vibrator, the micropores being dimensioned to pass through the porous vibration plate between front and back surfaces thereof, wherein the porous vibration plate constitutes the mist discharge port.
9 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the mist generating device is an ultrasonic atomizer comprising a piezoelectric vibrator and a porous vibration plate with a plurality of micropores and configured to atomize the decontamination solution by vibrating the piezoelectric vibrator, the micropores being dimensioned to pass through the porous vibration plate between front and back surfaces thereof, wherein the porous vibration plate constitutes the mist discharge port.
10 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the mist generating device is an ultrasonic atomizer comprising a piezoelectric vibrator and a porous vibration plate with a plurality of micropores and configured to atomize the decontamination solution by vibrating the piezoelectric vibrator, the micropores being dimensioned to pass through the porous vibration plate between front and back surfaces thereof, wherein the porous vibration plate constitutes the mist discharge port.
11 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the mist generating device is an ultrasonic atomizer comprising a piezoelectric vibrator and a porous vibration plate with a plurality of micropores and configured to atomize the decontamination solution by vibrating the piezoelectric vibrator, the micropores being dimensioned to pass through the porous vibration plate between front and back surfaces thereof, wherein the porous vibration plate constitutes the mist discharge port.
12 . The mobile decontamination apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the mist generating device is an ultrasonic atomizer comprising a piezoelectric vibrator and a porous vibration plate with a plurality of micropores and configured to atomize the decontamination solution by vibrating the piezoelectric vibrator, the micropores being dimensioned to pass through the porous vibration plate between front and back surfaces thereof, wherein the porous vibration plate constitutes the mist discharge port.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a mobile decontamination apparatus for decontaminating an inside of an isolator and the like using a decontamination agent mist. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mobile decontamination apparatus for decontaminating an inside of a room targeted to be decontaminated having a large area or decontaminating insides of a plurality of rooms targeted to be decontaminated. RELATED ART In manufacturing fields of manufacturing medical or pharmaceutical products or foods or in medical fields such as a surgical room, it is important to maintain a sterile state in the room. In particular, in decontamination of the sterile room that is a working room intended to manufacture medical or pharmaceutical products, there is a need to complete advanced decontamination validation which conforms to the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). In recent years, hydrogen peroxide gas has widely been adopted to decontaminate a working chamber where a sterile environment is required (hereinafter referred to as a “room targeted to be decontaminated”). Advantageously, hydrogen peroxide gas has a strong sterilization effect, and is inexpensively available and effectively utilized as an environmentally-friendly decontamination gas that is ultimately decomposed into oxygen and water. However, hydrogen peroxide gas has been conventionally available for use in decontamination of a small space, such as individual rooms targeted to be decontaminated, e.g., a sterile room, an isolator, or a glove box. On the other hand, there has been a problem that, in order to adopt the hydrogen peroxide gas into decontamination inside a room targeted to be decontaminated having a large area or a plurality of rooms targeted to be decontaminated, a large amount of the hydrogen peroxide gas of a prescribed concentration must be stably supplied. In particular, in pharmaceutical manufacturing fields, very large-sized sterile isolators are used, for example, to which equipment for filling pharmaceutical products into vials or the like, equipment for freeze-drying the pharmaceutical products filled in the vials, and the like are connected. In order to maintain a sterile environment inside such large-sized sterile isolator isolators, correspondingly large-sized decontamination equipment is used. As a decontamination gas generator used for such large-sized decontamination equipment, for example, a sterilizing liquid vaporizing device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 listed below is used. A large amount of hydrogen peroxide gas which has been generated by such large-sized decontamination gas generator is obtained by vaporizing hydrogen peroxide solution, and is established in a state of mixture gas of hydrogen peroxide gas and water vapor. This hydrogen peroxide gas has a low density, and is supplied to a room targeted to be decontaminated, via large diameter ducts. Therefore, in order to stably supply to the room targeted to be decontaminated the hydrogen peroxide gas that is adjusted to a predetermined concentration by the decontamination gas generator, there is a need to fully heat the duct by a heater. If the heating exerted by the heater is insufficient, the supplied hydrogen peroxide gas condenses in the duct, and the supply concentration and supply quantity relative to the room targeted to be decontaminated becomes insufficient. Moreover, there has been a problem that the hydrogen peroxide solution generated by condensation is heated, and the inside of the duct is corroded. Thus, there has been a problem that, in such large-sized decontamination gas generator, construction of large diameter ducts, heater equipment to heat the ducts and other ducts made of an anti-corrosion material are required to supply a large amount of hydrogen peroxide gas from the decontamination gas generator to the room targeted to be decontaminated. Accordingly, the inventors have previously proposed a decontamination system disclosed in Patent Literature 2 listed below as means for solving the above-described problems. In this decontamination system, a mixed gas-liquid obtained by mixing a hydrogen peroxide solution and compressed air is supplied to rooms targeted to be decontaminated respectively through small-diameter mixed gas-liquid supplying pipes. Consequently, it is possible to accurately supply a hydrogen peroxide solution to each room targeted to be decontaminated without requiring a construction of large-scale and large-diameter ducts, heater equipment for heating the ducts, and ducts made of an anti-corrosion material. However, each room targeted to be decontaminated requires its own decontamination gas generator, and there is a possibility that costs, such as equipment, chemical solutions, and energy, may become a problem. On the other hand, the inventors has proposed a decontamination method uses a hydrogen peroxide mist instead of a conventional hydrogen peroxide gas, in a decontamination device disclosed in P