Abstract:
A device for killing living microorganisms in an amount of raw meat is described in order to make the raw meat capable of being eaten without causing infection. The non-heating for killing living microorganisms comprises an enclosure, a carrier, a light source and a rotator. The carrier, in the enclosure, is for carrying the raw meat. The light source, in the enclosure, is for emitting light killing the living microorganisms in the raw meat. The rotator rotates the raw meat so that the rotated raw meat can be fully exposed to the emitted light.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates generally to a device for killing living microorganisms, and more particular, to a device for killing living microorganisms of an amount of raw food. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In recent years, raw foodism is being raised in Europe and US. In this revolution, people imitate barbarians to eat raw food and raw vegetables without cooking them. 
         [0003]    In the past, people heated food before eating because they wanted to kill microorganisms in the food. In a raw food diet, many microorganisms may cause infection or diseases. Heating food may kill the microorganisms. However, the heat also destroys many substances such as natural enzyme, amino acid, vitamin C and the like beneficial to people. Some mineral substance in an “organic status” is easily absorbed by human, but often heated and therefore destroyed to reduce its nutritional value. The heated mineral substance is alternatively in an “inorganic status”. 
         [0004]    American ministry of agriculture has ever published a specialized book. The book describes in detail that the numbers of nutrients in a raw food before and after being cooked are quite different. Accordingly, eating raw food prevents the food from losing nutrients, and relatively increases the nutrients absorbed by human, and relatively reduces the consumption of foods. 
         [0005]    Primitive Eskimo eat raw meat more than cooked meat. The reason may be that cooking wastes the fuel quite a lot and is not easy in a frozen and snow-covered land. Eskimo kill and then immediately eat a seal, walrus or fish once they are hunt. Such diet custom makes the Eskimo healthy and strong without common problems such as coronary arteriosclerosis and similar cardiovascular diseases. The rates for Eskimo to get modern diseases are often lower than people in advanced countries. After the western civilization spreads to the Eskimo&#39;s life, the Eskimo changes their custom of eating raw food. At the same time, the rates for the Eskimo to get modern diseases are obviously raised. 
         [0006]    Many foreign experiments were performed to animals to see the difference between eating raw food and cooked food. Those experiments made conclusions substantially the same as the conclusion of the Eskimo&#39;s change of diet custom. That is why the raw-food revolution is being raised recently. There are many advantages for people to eat raw food. Why most of them are hesitant to do it? The major reason may be the microorganisms of the raw foods cannot be effectively removed. For example, in September 2006, a poison spinach incident occurred in US. The tragedy killed several people due to they ate spinach which was polluted with  Escherichia coli . Keeping nutrients of raw foods and making them safe and healthy for people to eat are therefore topics that the present invention intends to improve. 
         [0007]    A conventional food vessel delaying food acidification was described in Taiwan Patent No. 588736. In this food vessel, some microorganisms may be killed to delay the food acidification, but most of the microorganisms cannot be effectively killed. Accordingly, this delay cannot make sure that people won&#39;t be infected or become ill if they eat a raw food which is kept in such a food vessel. The raw food, such as a sashimi, is kept in the same position without motion in a microorganism killing process. In this case, some microorganisms on a surface of the raw food may be killed, but other microorganisms on the other surfaces of the raw food may not be killed or may even grow to spread out the whole surfaces. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    One purpose of the present invention may be to provide a first device for sufficiently killing living microorganisms. The first device has a light source generating light capable of killing the living microorganisms. An object in the first device is rotated to fully expose to the light, so that the living microorganisms may be fully killed. 
         [0009]    Another purpose of the present invention may be to provide a second device for sufficiently killing living microorganisms. The second device comprises an indicator indicating the operating status/working function. By the indicator, a user may simply know the working function very well. This indicator avoids being unaware of the second device cannot kill living microorganisms any more. 
         [0010]    The other purpose of the present invention may be to provide a third device for sufficiently killing living microorganisms. The third device may comprise a reflector disposed on an inner sidewall of an enclosure. The reflector reflects light to sufficiently emit on an object having the living microorganisms, for sufficiently killing the living microorganisms by the light. 
         [0011]    According to the purposes of the present invention, a device for killing living microorganisms may comprise a motor, an enclosure, a rotator and a light source for killing the microorganism. The enclosure has a containing space. The rotator is disposed in the enclosure and has a fixing mechanism retaining an object. The light source is also disposed in the enclosure. The light source generates light being fully emitted to the rotator in the containing space. When a user initiate the device for killing the living microorganisms of the present invention, the fixed object can be driven and rotated by a fixing mechanism of the rotator. This is achieved by a power provided by the motor. The light is emitted to the object in the rotator to sufficiently kill the living microorganisms of the object such as a raw food. The raw food is safe to be eaten without being cooked. If the object is an object directly contacting with a human body such as a tooth brush or a pacifier, the living microorganisms on the object can also be fully killed. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  schematically shows a device for sufficiently killing living microorganisms according to the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2B  schematically show the implementation of a device for sufficiently killing living microorganisms according to the present invention; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3B  schematically show a rotator according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    A device for sufficiently killing living microorganisms is disclosed. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a full understanding of the present invention. It will be obvious, however, to one ordinarily skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques have not been shown in detail so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. 
         [0016]    Please refer to  FIG. 1 , it schematically shows a device for sufficiently killing living microorganisms in an object according to the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the device  10  for sufficiently killing the living microorganisms may comprise a motor  18 , an enclosure  20  (as shown in  FIG. 2A  or  FIG. 2B ), rotator  12 , a light source  16  for killing the living microorganisms. The light source  16  for killing the living microorganisms may be a UV light or a nanometer photocatalyst. The motor  18  generates a power and transmits the power to the rotator  12  by a transmitting mechanism (such as a gear set not shown). The rotator  12  is therefore driven to self-rotate and to rotate the object  14 . 
         [0017]    Simply, by using the motor  18  and a transmitting mechanism to rotate the object  14 , light source  16  of the device for sufficiently killing the living microorganisms emits light onto the object  16  enough to sufficiently kill the living microorganisms in the object  14 , because the rotated object  14  can be fully exposed to the emitted light. As a result, the object  14 , such as a raw food, can be safely eaten without being cooked. The object  14  may alternatively be a raw food, knife, toothbrush, cleaning rag, milk bottle, pacifier or any object which may be fixed by a fixing mechanism (lately described) of the rotator  12 . 
         [0018]    To clearly understand how the object  14  is rotated, an example combining a microwave oven and a chicken-rotated roaster is described hereinafter. Please refer  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2B , they schematically show the implementation of a device for sufficiently killing living microorganisms according to the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2A , the enclosure  20  of the device  10  for killing the living microorganisms looks like a microwave having a door and a control panel. The enclosure  10  may include a door  20   a  and a control panel  22 . The control panel may have an opening button  22   b , a rotary switch  22   c  and an indicator  22   a  indicating the operating status/working ability. 
         [0019]    The size of the enclosure  20  is designed according to the user of the device  10 . The user may be a member of a family or a company. The quantity of the indicators may be corresponded to the quantity of the light source  16  for killing the living microorganisms. Therefore, the user may easily understand the operating status/working ability of the light source  16  for killing the living microorganisms according to that the indicator  22   a  is light or dark and its brightness or color (for example, red indicates the device gets something wrong, green indicates the device is normal) or twinkling status. Such an indicator  22   a  prevents the user from being unaware of a breakdown of the light source  16 . 
         [0020]    The rotary switch  22   c  may be for setting a working time of the device  10 . The opening button  22   b  may be pressed to open the door  20   a  as shown in  FIG. 2B . The light source  16  for killing the living microorganisms is temporarily stopped working to prevent human body from being hurt by any emitted light. The light source  16  is kept working after the door  20   a  is closed. When the door  20   a  is opened, it is observed that the enclosure  20  comprises a containing space  20   a , a reflector  20   d  on an inner sidewall of the enclosure, assembly of retainer bases  20   b , and the rotator  12  and light source  16  both disposed in the containing space  20   c.    
         [0021]    Although the quantity and the position of the light source  16  for killing the living microorganisms are not limited, the light generate by the light source  16  should be enough to fully emit to the rotator  12  and especially onto the object  14  in the rotator  12  (as shown in  FIG. 3B ). By the emitted light, the living microorganisms may be fully killed. When the rotator  12  is driven by the motor  18  (i.e., the object is rotated by the rotator  12 ). 
         [0022]    In addition to the rotator  12  being emitted for killing the living microorganisms, a reflector  20   d  is disposed on the inner sidewall of the enclosure  20 . The reflector reflects the light from the light source  16  to the rotator  12  and the object  14  in the containing space  20   c  for more emission. The reflector  20   d  may be a mirror or a metal surface having reflecting function. The reflector  20   d  of the reflector may be processed with a nanometer photocatalyst by, for example, being coated with a titanium dioxide layer. The titanium dioxide layer is activated to generate activators for killing the living microorganisms and to have hydrophilicity, when the reflector  20   d  is emitted with the light from the light source  16  and when the reflector  20   d  reflects the emitted light. The door  20   a  may be opened for the user to take or to put the rotator  12  after the object  14  is disposed in the rotator  12 . 
         [0023]    The following will describe how to take or to put the rotator  12  into the enclosure  20 . Please refer to  FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3B , they schematically show a rotator according to the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3A , the rotator  12  may be a drum made of a wire netting  12   a . Through the wire netting  12   a , the light from the light source  16  can be emitted onto the object  14 . On the other hand, the object  14  is fixed by the wire netting  12   a , rather than not fixed by the rotator  12  without a wire netting. The wire netting  12   a  may serves as a fixing mechanism for retaining and fixing the object  14 . 
         [0024]    However, the rotator may be made by other fixing mechanism than a wire netting. Alternatively, other fixing mechanism, which fixes the object  14  so that the light may emit onto the object  14  in the rotator  12 , is suitable in the present invention. If the object  14  needs to be put into the enclosure, open the rotator  12  which can be half opened along a thin slit  12   d  by a retaining ring  12   c  of the rotator  12  (i.e., the wire netting  12   a  has a structure which can be half opened). The rotator  12  is closed after the object  14  is put onto/taken out of the enclosure  20  again by the retaining ring  12   c . When the rotator  12  containing the object  14  needs to be put into the enclosure  20 , it is shown as  FIG. 2B . 
         [0025]    The enclosure  20  has assembly of retainer bases  20   b  opposite to the containing space  20   c . One of the retainer bases is disposed on one side. Other retainer bases on the other side are not shown, but are disposed opposite to the rotator  12  and essentially have a quantity of two. The rotator  12  has two sides and two retainers  12   b  respectively set on the two sides. On one side, a single retainer is set. The rotator  12  is fixed in the enclosure  20  by locating the retainers  12   b  into the assembly of retainer bases  20   b . The rotator  12  is self-rotated by a power through a driving mechanism and from the motor  18 . The contained object  14  is also simultaneously rotated by the rotator. 
         [0026]    The device for killing the living microorganisms of the present invention may comprise only the enclosure  20 , a carrier (which may substantially equivalent to a rotator  12  being swung and not driven by the motor  18 ), and a light source  16 . In this case, the light source  16  must generate the light fully emitting on the object  14  on the carrier, or alternatively, must be reflected to other portion of the swung object  14  by the above-mentioned reflector  20   d . The other portion of the swung object  14  is not directly exposed to the emitted light, but is still exposed to the reflected light so that the living microorganisms may be fully killed. 
         [0027]    In addition to the reflector  20   d , the device may further comprise another light source disposed opposite to the light source  16 . It prevents one side of the object  14  on the carrier from being not exposed to the emitted light from the light source  16 . 
         [0028]    To achieve the above results, a rotary switch (not shown) may be added to the control panel  22 . After the rotary switch is pressed down, the motor  18  may not drive the rotator  12 . As for the mentioned carrier, it is suspended, and is not driven by the motor  18 . 
         [0029]    Obviously, many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the present invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications of the present invention may be made without departing from what is intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.