PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultraviolet sterilization apparatus that performs irradiation with ultraviolet light by light emission from a xenon flash tube and that particularly has the high efficiency of utilization of the energy of electric charge charged in a capacitor for ultraviolet light.SOLUTION: The ultraviolet sterilization apparatus includes: switch means 6 that controls the state of supplying the charged electric charge to a xenon flash tube 4 that consumes electric charge charged in a capacitor 3 in a charging circuit 2 to emit light by turning-on and -off operations of the state, thereby controlling the light emission operation of the xenon flash tube 4 and control means 7 that outputs an ON signal for the turning-on operation of the switch means 6, that outputs an OFF signal for the turning-off operation of the switching means 6 in the vicinity of a peak value of a light emission waveform, including the peak value, and that controls the turning-on and -off operations the specified number of times of light emission enabling obtainment of the amount of ultraviolet light necessary for sufficiently sterilizing at least an article to be sterilized. In the ultraviolet sterilization apparatus, the light emission waveform of the xenon flash tube 4 is controlled to be a light emission waveform interrupted in the vicinity of the peak value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1COPYRIGHT: (C)2017,JPO&INPIT【課題】キセノン閃光放電管の発光により紫外線を照射する紫外線殺菌装置に関し、特に紫外線に対するコンデンサーの充電電荷エネルギーの利用効率が高い紫外線殺菌装置を提供する。【解決手段】充電回路2にて充電されるコンデンサー3の充電電荷を消費して発光するキセノン閃光放電管4に対する上記充電電荷の供給状態を、オン、オフ動作することにより制御してキセノン閃光放電管4の発光動作を制御するスイッチ手段6と、スイッチ手段6をオン動作させるオン信号を出力すると共に発光波形のピーク値を含むピーク値近傍にてスイッチ手段6をオフ動作させるオフ信号を出力し、かつオン・オフ動作を少なくとも殺菌対象物品の十分な殺菌に必要となる紫外線量を得ることができる規定発光回数行うように制御する制御手段7とを備え、キセノン閃光放電管4の発光波形を上記ピーク値近傍で遮断された発光波形となるように制御する。【選択図】図1
