Archer Aire Industries, Inc.

M Keith Cox

Virgil L Archer

William E Davidson

A recirculating high velocity hot air sterilization device includes a housing having a chamber therein. A corrugated, perforated jet curtain plate is disposed within the chamber and partially defines an air supply plenum positioned outwardly of the chamber, the plenum having an electric heating element operatively positioned therein. Spaced apart from the jet curtain plate within the chamber is a nonperforated deflector plate which extends parallel to the jet curtain plate and may be of a flat or corrugated configuration. A blower is connected to the housing and creates therein a recirculating flow of heated air which sequentially flows into the air supply plenum across the heating element, outwardly in a forward direction through the perforations in the jet curtain plate and into the housing chamber, back into the blower, and then into the air supply plenum. Metal surgical or dental instruments to be sterilized are positioned in one or more wire mesh trays which are removably supported within the housing chamber between the spaced apart from the deflector plate and the jet curtain plate. The flow of heated air through the perforations in the jet curtain plate creates within the chamber a spaced apart series of forwardly travelling, high velocity, heated air impingement jets which operates to rapidly and thoroughly sterilize the instruments.

Recirculating high velocity hot air sterilization process

An automatically controlled recirculating high velocity hot air sterilization device includes a housing having a sterilization chamber with a temperature sensor mounted therein, a hot air plenum including a blower in fluid communication with a heating element and sterilization chamber for inputting hor air into and receiving hot air from the sterilization chamber for recirculation, and a control chamber having a temperature sensing circuit connected to the temperature circuit for producing electrical inputs representative of the sterilization chamber temperature, power circuits connected to the heating element and blower, a controller connected to the temperature sensing circuit for monitoring the temperature, and to the heating element and blower circuits for controlling their operation, and a control panel including cycle selection switches for operation, an on/off switch, and temperature and timer/error displays. The controller is designed for monitoring the cycle selection switches and on/off switch, for controlling operation of the heating element, blower and timer for the cycle selected, for monitoring the temperature, for starting the timer when the temperature rises to the required temperature, for restarting the timer should the temperature fall below the required temperature during a cycle, for shutting down the device when a catastrophic failure occurs and for outputting an error signal together with problem information for display.

High velocity hot air sterilization device with controller

A recirculating high velocity hot air sterilization device includes a housing having a chamber therein. A corrugated, perforated jet curtain plate is disposed within the chamber and partially defines an air supply plenum positioned outwardly of the chamber, the plenum having an electric heating element operatively positioned therein. Spaced apart from the jet curtain plate within the chamber is a nonperforated deflector plate which extends parallel to the jet curtain plate and may be of a flat or corrugated configuration. A blower is connected to the housing and creates therein a recirculating flow of heated air which sequentially flows into the air supply plenum across the heating element, outwardly in a forward direction through the perforations in the jet curtain plate and into the housing chamber, back into the blower, and then into the air supply plenum. Metal surgical or dental instruments to be sterilized are positioned in one or more wire mesh trays which are removably supported within the housing chamber between and spaced apart from the deflector plate and the jet curtain plate. The flow of heated air through the perforations in the jet curtain plate creates within the chamber a spaced apart series of forwardly travelling, high velocity, heated air impingement jets directed toward the deflector plate. Some of the forwardly travelling jets impinge upon surface portions of the instruments, while the remainder of the jets bypass the instruments and strike the deflector plate. The forwardly travelling jets striking the deflector plate are laterally offset and rearwardly deflected so that they impinge upon generally opposite surface portions of the supported instruments. The deflected, rearwardly travelling jets which impinge upon the instruments create with the forwardly traveling jets a high degree of heated air turbulence in the vicinity of the instruments. The combination of simultaneous heated air impingement on opposite sides of the instruments, and the resulting turbulence of the heated air adjacent such instruments, very rapidly and completely sterilizes and depyrogenates the instruments.

Recirculating high velocity hot air sterilizing device

A recirculating, high velocity hot impingement air sterilizer has an inner housing that defines a chamber adapted to receive dental instruments or the like to be sterilized by hot impingement air jets flowed through the chamber by a compact fan, duct and heating coil assembly exteriorly secured to the inner housing. A specially designed insulating jacket structure envelopes and removably receives the inner housing, the jacket structure having a flexible, hollow outer skin portion filled with and captively retaining a suitable insulating material. The jacketed inner housing is received within an outer housing and defines therein a cooling space which extends around a major portion of the insulating jacket structure. Cooling air is flowed through such cooling space by a small fan secured to the inner surface of a removable back panel portion of the outer housing. By simply removing the back panel portion, and then removing a back portion of the insulating jacket, access to the main fan and heating coil structure is quickly and easily provided to repair or replace the same without removing the inner housing. The flexible outer skin portion of the insulating jacket prevents the insulating material from damage or dislodgement into either housing during the repair or replacement of the main fan and heating coil structure.

Growing community of inventors

Dallas, TX, United States of America

M Keith Cox