Midmark Corporation

Ronald A Gatchell

Philip Marc Stewart

Michael J Coyle

Richard L Jones

Kimberly S Maalouf

George K Chow

James E Clapp

Dennis L Harris

Edward J Florkey

Gary W Benning

A portable steam sterilizer for surgical and dental instruments includes an outer casing and a pressure chamber configured to receive steam therein. A tray is configured to hold the instruments and is releasably received within the pressure chamber while a boiler is in fluid communication with the pressure chamber for providing steam thereto. The sterilizer further includes a container for receiving condensed steam evacuated from the pressure chamber. The container is spaced from the outer casing and includes a main body and a lid that is substantially non-rotationally coupled to the main body. A conduit is coupled to the lid and fluid communicates the container with the pressure chamber. The main body of the container may include a base while the lid may include a wall oriented generally orthogonal to the base.

Water management system for sterilizer

A portable steam sterilizer for surgical instruments includes a tray configured to hold the instruments and a pressure chamber. The pressure chamber includes a cavity portion and a handle portion. The cavity portion includes a set of walls and is configured to releasably receive the tray, while the handle portion is coupled to the tray for selectively inserting and removing the tray respectively into and from within the cavity portion. The handle portion is sealingly engageable with the cavity portion to thereby define the pressure chamber. A steam inlet fluidly communicates the pressure chamber with a source of steam to selectively permit steam to flow from the source of steam and into the pressure chamber. A steam outlet fluidly communicates the pressure chamber with a steam management assembly to selectively permit steam to flow from the pressure chamber and into the steam management assembly.

Portable sterilizing apparatus for surgical and dental instruments

A sterilizer () is provided having a steam filled sterilizer chamber () for sterilizer articles placed within the chamber (). An electronic air valve () is provided to control the venting rate of the steam is vented back to a water reservoir () after the articles have been sterilized. The electronic air valve () also vents the chamber () in a controlled manner during the heat up portion of the sterilization cycle to obtain an optimum saturated steam environment with the chamber () for the sterilizing process. The sterilizer () has pre-programmed and programmable sterilization cycles. And the drying times of each of these cycles is programmable by a user. The programmable sterilization cycles also provide a programmable vent rate which may be selected by the user to minimize damage to the sterilized articles. A steam condensing coil () is associated with the water reservoir () to minimize pressure build up within the water reservoir (). The sterilizer () uses sensed pressure within the sterilizer chamber () to control heating of the chamber () to a predetermined sterilization temperature set point during a sterilization cycle. A motor () controls a door lock mechanism to open the door () of the sterilizer () following the sterilizing portion of the sterilization cycle.

Sterilizing apparatus

Portable sterilizing apparatus

External condensation tank for a sterilizer

Handle for portable sterilizing apparatus

A sterilizer including a sterilization chamber for receiving articles to be sterilized and a door supported on a horizontal pivot at an access opening of the sterilizer chamber. The door includes a seal plate and a resilient seal member supported on the seal plate wherein the seal member includes an annular lip extending transversely to the plane of the seal plate. The lip extends into the sterilizer chamber wherein pressure within the chamber exerts a force biasing an opposing surface of the lip into engagement with an inner surface of the chamber. The sterilizer door is movable between a fully closed and a fully open position and includes a mechanism for holding the door in a partially open position. In the partially open position, the lip extends into contact with a surface of the sterilizer chamber to thereby form a bridge between the door and chamber and prevent condensation from dripping down away from the chamber and door. A controller is provided for controlling sterilization cycles and actuates the door to move to the partially open position at the end of a sterilization cycle. In addition, a pressure actuated lock is provided for preventing the door from opening when the chamber is pressurized. The controller further automatically controls purging of air from the sterilizer chamber during a steam generation mode of a sterilization cycle wherein the controller senses the temperature and pressure during the sterilization cycle, and in response thereto, opens a purge valve to release air when the conditions within the sterilizer deviate by a predetermined amount from preset conditions monitored by the controller.

Sterilizer including air purging system and pressure actuated door seal

Growing community of inventors

Tipp City, OH, United States of America

Ronald A Gatchell