Patent ID: 11925792
Assignee: nan
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  H | IPC A  H

Claim 0:
1. An apparatus for destroying needles and sharp objects comprising:
an incineration port, the incineration port comprising a plurality of electrodes, wherein the plurality of electrodes are operable to receive a needle or other sharp object;
a power source, wherein the power source is in communication with the incineration port and wherein the power source is operable to provide electrical power to each electrode of the plurality of electrodes;
a plurality of sensors comprising a current sensor;
a processor, wherein the processor is operable to communicate with the plurality of sensors, and wherein the processor is operable to interface with the power source and the plurality of electrodes; and
a transistor,
wherein each electrode of the plurality of electrodes comprises a flat portion and an angled portion, each angled portion comprises a contact and a base, and each contact and each base comprises a terminal end,
wherein each angled portion of each electrode is bent downward at an offset angle from a horizontal plane of the flat portion of the electrode,
wherein, for each angled portion, a portion of the contact of the angled portion extends beyond the terminal end of the base of the angled portion and defines an overhang length,
wherein the current sensor is in communication with the processor, and the current sensor is operable to detect current being delivered to the plurality of electrodes by the power source, and
wherein the processor is operable to infer a size of the needle or other sharp object inserted into the incineration port based on an output of the current sensor, to drive the transistor using a pulse-width modulated signal, and to modify the pulse-width modulated signal based on the inferred size of the needle or other sharp object, thereby controlling a flow of power from the power source to the plurality of electrodes in a manner that minimizes sparking.