Method of cooling a sterilizer
AssigneeSteris Europe, Inc. Suomen Sivuliike
InventorsMauri Salmisuo, Jani Pettersson
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Abstract
A method for cooling a jacketed autoclave or steam sterilizer by allowing a film of water to flow down as inner wall of the sterilizer's jacket. Condensate from the jacket space is drawn into a water ring pump. The water ring pump draws condensate from the lowest point of the jacket to a water side of the pump, and gas from the jacket to a normal suction inlet of the pump. During the process of cooling the sterilizer, a stream of water and air from the water ring pump is conducted to an upper part of the jacket of the steam sterilizer and is allowed to flow as a film down the inner wall of the jacket. Evaporation of the water is enhanced by lowering the pressure in the jacket.
Claims6
A method for cooling a jacketed steam sterilizer, said method comprising the steps of:
- withdrawing a first stream of liquid water from a jacket space at a lowest point in said jacket space wherein the jacket space is not supplied with additional liquid water from an external source during the operation of the cooling function;
- conveying said first stream of liquid water directly to a point within a liquid phase of a liquid ring pump;
- conveying a second stream of liquid water and air from the liquid ring pump to a point within the jacket space to form a liquid water film that flows down an inner wall of the jacket space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.