This invention further relates to a disinfection device, for disinfection of health care goods, such as bed pans, urine bottles and the like, said device com- prising a disinfection chamber, in which said goods are intended to be placed during a disinfection process.

Technical Background In health service, disinfection constitutes an im- portant component to avoid spread of infection and growth of bacteria. Currently a great number of different dis- infection devices are available on the market, which are intended to be placed e. g. in a hospital ward for dis- infection of bed pans, urine bottles etc. A disinfection device is usually made up as follows. The device com- prises a disinfection chamber, to which several nozzles extend. The nozzles are connected via, inter alia, a pump to a separate water tank, which is supplied from a public water distribution system. The chamber is traditionally made of a metal material, such as stainless steel.

There are however a number of drawbacks of the dis- infection chambers currently available. Providing a complete chamber requires, for instance, much edging and welding, which is time-consuming and thus also expensive.

The joints and the like formed in connection with the traditional mounting process may also constitute a health risk since bacteria tend to collect in these joints. In order to avoid this, it is possible according to prior-

art technique to carefully smooth all joints so as to re- move any possible irregularities in which bacteria can grow, but this is also time-consuming. In addition to this, disinfection in this type of chamber tends to re- quire a great deal of energy. Among other things, this is due to the fact that much of the thermal energy supplied is needed to heat the metal chamber material and thus is not used in the disinfection process. Furthermore this thermal energy can be passed on, via the chamber walls, to the casing of the disinfection device and make it hot, which may constitute a risk of a user getting burn injuries and feeling discomfort when touching the casing, unless the disinfection device is provided with a separate insulating layer.

Object of the Invention The object of the invention is thus to provide an improved disinfection chamber, in which the above- mentioned drawbacks of prior-art technique are overcome.

Summary of the Invention The objects described above are achieved by means of the invention by said chamber having a self-supporting structure which is substantially made of a polymer mate- rial. By making the actual chamber of a polymer material, a number of advantages are obtained. First, plastic mate- rial absorbs a very small amount of heat, which means that the energy supplied is used in the disinfection process instead of heating the walls of the chamber. This in turn results in shorter process time as well as lower energy consumption. Moreover, polymer has a natural heat- and sound-insulating property. As a result, it is easy to obtain a disinfection device which is silent, and thus does not have a negative effect on the working environ- ment, at the same time as a cool outer casing is provided without arranging any extra insulation for these pur-

poses. Furthermore, polymer materials have special sur- face properties, and therefore water droplets do not form to the same extent on a polymer surface as on metal materials. This in turn makes it possible to obtain dry goods faster and using less energy. The forming of drop- lets can also be negative from the point of view of bacterial growth. Another advantage of the invention is that polymer materials are easy to form into a desirable shape, which makes it easy to optimise the chamber, for instance regarding the chamber volume. In addition, the chamber will be lighter, which among other things fa- cilitates transports and makes them less expensive due to the reduced transport weight. A polymer chamber is also cheap to produce, once a tool has been designed, which facilitates mass production.

Preferably the chamber is made of an injection- moulding material, which makes the chamber very easy to manufacture using prior-art manufacturing methods.

The chamber can also comprise a reinforcing material to further improve the self-supporting structure. These reinforcing materials can, for instance, be fibreglass materials with a view to reinforcing the entire chamber, which allows the walls of the chamber to be thinner, thereby saving material and space. The reinforcing mate- rial can also be locally situated elements intended to reinforce the chamber, for instance, at fixing points.

According to a preferred embodiment, the injection- moulding polymer material is a propylene plastic mate- rial, which is a tested, strong and cheap material. The polymer material can also be mixed with a lime material, such as talc or chalk, in order to obtain stronger and thinner chamber walls.

According to a preferred embodiment, the chamber is formed substantially in one piece. This preferred embodi- ment has a number of advantages. First, it facilitates the mounting in the disinfection chamber as the fitter

only has to mount one part. Moreover, the chamber can be made without joints, which involves a number of advan- tages. For instance hygienic surfaces are obtained, which reduces the risk of growth of bacterial colonies, which may easily arise in cracks, joints and the like. The ab- sence of joints is also advantageous in terms of wear.

Suitably the chamber also has a frame element which is formed integrally with the chamber and intended for mounting of the chamber in the disinfection device. This frame makes it possible to mount the chamber in the dis- infection device in a fast and simple and thus also less expensive way. Moreover, a minimum number of joints are provided in the transition between the chamber and a door, which closes the chamber during disinfection, which results in a reduced risk of growth of bacterial colo- nies.

Suitably the chamber has a shape which is adjusted to the shape of the goods which the device is intended to disinfect. By adjusting the chamber to the shape of the goods, a minimum chamber volume can be obtained, which in turn leads to energy savings since a smaller volume has to be heated. Furthermore, parts such as inlets and outlets are suitably formed integrally with the chamber.

This results in advantages since fewer loose components are required, which allows for cheaper manufacture, fa- cilitates mounting in the disinfection device and elimi- nates the risk of a part being incorrectly mounted, and all that this entails. Finally, the chamber is suitably intended to be detachably mounted in the disinfection chamber. As a result, the chamber is a replaceable com- ponent and thus can easily be replaced if the chamber should be worn or if a chamber of a different shape or with a different nozzle position etc. should be desired.

The above-described purposes of the invention are also achieved by a disinfection device, for disinfection of health care goods, such as bed pans, urine bottles and

the like, said device comprising a disinfection chamber, in which said goods are intended to be placed during a disinfection process, said chamber being of the kind as defined above.

Brief Description of the Drawing The invention will be described below in more detail in the form of a currently preferred embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a cut-open perspective view of a disinfec- tion device comprising a disinfection chamber according to this invention.

Description of Preferred Embodiments A schematic view of a disinfection device 1 for disinfection of bed pans, urine bottles and the like is shown in Fig. 1. The disinfection device 1 comprises essentially a casing 2, which constitutes the outer boundary surface of the disinfection device, and a dis- infection chamber 3, which is arranged in said casing 2 and attached to the same. The casing 2 can, for instance, be made of plastic, metal or a combination of these materials. The disinfection device further comprises a water tank 4, which is intended to be filled with water from a public water distribution system and from which water is distributed to a plurality of nozzles (not shown) placed in the chamber 3.

Fig. 1 shows a front-feed disinfection device 1.

The chamber 3 has a cup-shaped portion 3d which defines the actual disinfection chamber and has a front opening 3a for introduction of disinfection goods into the cham- ber and an outlet 3b for discharge of used water, the outlet being placed in the bottom of the chamber in the mounted position of the chamber.

The disinfection device 1 further comprises a door 5, which is movable between a first position, in which it

sealingly abuts against the front opening of the chamber to obtain a closed disinfection space defined by the cup- shaped portion 3d and the inside of the door 5, and a second position, in which the front opening of the cham- ber is uncovered and goods can be introduced into the chamber. Goods holders 6 are suitably arranged at the inside of the door 5. Thus the goods that are to be dis- infected can easily be placed in the holder 6 when the door 5 is in the open second position, whereupon the goods are introduced into the chamber when the door is closed, i. e. moved to the first position, whereupon the goods can be disinfected. This construction has the ad- vantage that the goods always reach a correct position in relation to the location of the nozzles, the chamber walls etc. In addition, a user does not have to put his hands into the chamber when introducing or removing goods, which reduces the risk of unintentional contami- nation.

According to the invention, the chamber 3 is made of a polymer material. Also the door is made of a polymer material. The chamber is formed in one piece, for in- stance by injection moulding. The chamber further has a number of integrally formed structural parts. These are, for instance, openings for mounting nozzles and a dis- charge opening. Moreover, the chamber structure comprises an integrally formed mounting frame 3c which extends sub- stantially around the front opening 3a. This frame struc- ture involves a number of advantages compared to prior- art technique, according to which a mounting frame or the like had to be made separately and welded to the chamber, which was expensive and time-consuming, at the same time as the weld joints caused a risk of bacterial growth. By making the entire chamber of a polymer material, it can be made in one piece without any joints, thus eliminating the risk of bacterial growth. The frame 3c has a plural- ity of fastening openings, through which fastening means,

such as screws, can be inserted, after which these are attached to the casing of the disinfection device. This type of attachment also allows the chamber to be attached to the casing in a releasable manner, which makes it pos- sible to replace the chamber when worn or when it is desirable to change the shape etc. of the chamber.

Further advantages of making the chamber of a poly- mer by injection moulding is that the shape in which the chamber is to be formed when manufactured can easily be adjusted to the goods which are to be disinfected. In the Example shown in Fig. 1, which is primarily intended for disinfection of bed pans, the chamber has for instance been formed with an inclined upper side as shown at A.

The thus retracted part of the chamber is not used in disinfection of bed pans and therefore this side of the chamber can be inclined, which results in a smaller cham- ber volume. Owing to the reduced chamber volume, the amount of energy needed in the disinfection process is also reduced. It is therefore an advantage to"retract" the chamber in parts which are not intended to be used, thus reducing the volume. This is easy to achieve when manufacturing the inventive polymer chamber, but dif- ficult and expensive in traditional chambers.

Furthermore, polymer has a natural sound-and heat- insulating property. Therefore it is easy to provide a disinfection device which is silent, thus not having any negative effect on the working environment, while ob- taining a cool outer casing without arranging any extra insulation for this purpose.

The door 5 is in this embodiment fixed to the poly- mer chamber 3 to the frame 3c by means of hinges or the like. To reinforce the construction at the fixing points, it is possible to arrange or integrate plate-shaped re- inforcing elements 7 made, for instance, of metal at these fixing points.

By making the chamber 3 of a polymer material fur- ther advantages are obtained. As described above, the chamber can easily comprise an integrated outlet con- struction, which facilitates the mounting of the chamber in the disinfection device 1. For instance, conduits intended to lead water and/or disinfectant from the re- spective tanks to the nozzles in the chamber 3 can be formed integrally with the chamber, which further facili- tates mounting. It is also possible to easily integrate other parts in the chamber construction, which results in a reduced risk of incorrect mounting, fewer com- ponents, reduced mounting time and a construction that is more reliable in operation.

Another advantage of using polymer material is that lime deposits do not form to the same extent on polymer materials as on metal materials.

The polymer material must fulfil the following criteria: Temperature resistance to at least about 90°C, resistance to chemicals present in urine and disinfec- tants, such as acetates and tensides. Moreover, the mate- rial should be relatively flameproof to comply with any fire-protection standards and the like.

A group of materials which has been found to be suitable is thermoplastics, especially polypropylene.

Polypropylene has a maximum temperature of about 105°C, it is easy to injection mould/die cast and has good resistance to the above chemicals, and it is resistant to substances with pH values in a wide range, about pH 2- 14. In addition, the material is relatively cheap. The forming and the manufacturing of a chamber of this mate- rial can be performed according to prior-art technique in the field.

In some applications or in some parts of the cham- ber, it may be suitable or desirable to reinforce the material. This can be done, for instance, by adding a

lime material, such as talc or chalk, or by reinforcing the material, for instance, with fibreglass.

As an alternative, other types of polymers can be used, such as fluoroplastic or PTFE, which is resistant to higher temperatures than propylene plastic, but is on the other hand more expensive and has a greater tendency to shrink. Other polymer materials are also conceivable.

It will be understood that even if the invention is described above with reference to a preferred embodi- ment, many variants and modifications of the device are feasible without departing from the inventive idea such as defined in the appended claims. The embodiment de- scribed herein is, for instance, a front-feed disinfec- tion device, but it will be understood that the inventive chamber is just as useful in other types of disinfection devices, for instance a top-feed disinfection device.

Moreover, the chamber can of course be of several dif- ferent shapes, besides the one shown, to provide an optimal disinfection result in various applications.