US-12622995-B2 - Air sanitation device by emission of a barrier of ultraviolet radiation in an air flow

US12622995B2US 12622995 B2US12622995 B2US 12622995B2US-12622995-B2

Abstract

A device for air sanitation in circumscribed environments generates a sterilising barrier substantially consisting of superimposing a descending vertical laminar air flow and a peripherally delimited ultraviolet radiation beam also directed downwards. The device, of simplified design and small size, comprises structure for delivering a vertical laminar air flow at a controlled and humidified temperature, as well as, adjacent to such delivery structure, one or more sources for the external emission of an ultraviolet radiation beam of a wavelength appropriately chosen to offer a high germicidal action and not constitute a risk for humans. Therefore, such a substantially superimposed air flow and ultraviolet radiation beam form a barrier with high sterilising power and capable of generating confined areas. The device thus conceived is suitable for installation in circumscribed environments, typically crowded, in which the transmission of pathogens and, consequently, the risk of contagion is to be reduced. It is particularly applicable in public places such as offices, restaurants, public establishments of various kinds as well as transport.

Inventors

Franco Fusi
Giovanni Romano
Guido Toci
Barbara PATRIZI

Assignees

CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE
UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20211230
Priority Date: 20201231

Claims (9)

1 . An air sanitation device comprising a main body provided with one or more sources of emission of ultraviolet radiation and means for forced air circulation, wherein: said sources for emitting ultraviolet radiation are such as to generate electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range between 170 and 230 nm; said air sanitation device comprises reflecting organs, arranged around said sources of emission of ultraviolet radiation, suitable for perimetrically confining and directing the radiation emitted by said sources in such a way that said device emits outwardly an electromagnetic radiation curtain beam, wherein the reflecting organs are disposed around the one or more sources and are adapted to peripherally delimit the emitted radiation and direct the emitted radiation outward in a predetermined direction so as to create a curtain shape of the electromagnetic radiation curtain beam, and said means for forced air circulation comprises channeling means configured to generate a substantially laminar, vertically oriented curtain-shaped air flow superimposed on or substantially adjacent to said electromagnetic radiation curtain beam, wherein said curtain-shaped airflow and said curtain beam are substantially coplanar and overlapping at an emission region adjacent an outlet of said channeling means so as to maintain airborne particles within the beam for an extended residence time.
2 . The air sanitation device according to claim 1 , comprising organs for controlling the temperature and the hygrometry of the outgoing air flow, intended to increase the temperature and humidify said outgoing curtain-shaped air flow.
3 . The air sanitation device according to claim 1 , comprising sensor organs for detecting bodies in the vicinity of said electromagnetic radiation curtain beam.
4 . The air sanitation device according to claim 3 , wherein said sensor organs deputed for detecting bodies in proximity of said electromagnetic radiation curtain beam induce the interruption of said electromagnetic radiation curtain beam in case said bodies or objects cross said electromagnetic radiation curtain beam.
5 . The air sanitation device according to claim 1 , comprising an auxiliary reflector assembly, placed externally to said main body and at a suitable distance therefrom, oriented towards said sources of emission of ultraviolet radiation in such an arrangement as to reflect and return to said sources the incident rays emitted by said sources.
6 . The air sanitation device according to claim 1 , wherein said means for forced air circulation comprise at least one fan housed in said main body.
7 . The air sanitation device according to claim 1 , wherein said means for forced air circulation comprise a compressed air container.
8 . The air sanitation device according to claim 1 , comprising further ultraviolet sources included within said main body for radiating the air flow produced by said means for forced air circulation with a UV radiation which remains confined within said main body.
9 . An air sanitation device comprising a main body provided with one or more sources of emission of ultraviolet radiation and at least one fan or a compressed air container configured to generate forced air circulation, wherein: said sources for emitting ultraviolet radiation are such as to generate electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range between 170 and 230 nm; said air sanitation device comprises reflecting organs, arranged around said sources of emission of ultraviolet radiation, suitable for perimetrically confining and directing the radiation emitted by said sources in such a way that said device emits outwardly an electromagnetic radiation curtain beam, wherein the reflecting organs are disposed around the one or more sources and are adapted to peripherally delimit the emitted radiation and direct the emitted radiation outward in a predetermined direction so as to create a curtain shape of the electromagnetic radiation curtain beam, and said at least one fan or compressed air container comprises a guide channel configured to generate a substantially laminar, vertically oriented curtain-shaped air flow superimposed on or substantially adjacent to said electromagnetic radiation curtain beam, wherein said curtain-shaped airflow and said curtain beam are substantially coplanar and overlapping at an emission region adjacent an outlet of said guide channel so as to maintain airborne particles within the beam for an extended residence time.

Description

This application is the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/IB2021/062460 filed Dec. 30, 2021 which designated the U.S. and claims priority to IT 102020000032918 filed Dec. 31, 2020, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL SECTOR The present invention relates to the technical field of germicidal equipment for air sanitation and disinfection. In particular, the invention relates to a device for sanitising air by generating an ultraviolet radiation barrier in air flow. BACKGROUND ART The limited environments where human activities are carried out or where, in general, there is high anthropogenic concentration, such as offices, waiting rooms, restaurants, public transport, etc., can generate ideal conditions for the multiplication and propagation of pathogens. In such circumstances, the air can act as a vector of such pathogens and, consequently, as a means of transmitting infectious disease conditions. In fact, as is known, there is a close correlation between air quality in confined spaces and the health of the individuals who occupy them. As an example, Sick Building Syndrome identifies a pathological condition associated with poor ventilation and, in general, reduced air quality indoors; moreover, according to estimates by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, between 15,000 and 70,000 deaths are recorded each year in Europe due to influenza A and B viruses alone, which are mainly transmitted by air. According to recent literature, the transmission of viral and/or bacterial infections by air is induced by the propagation of microscopic particles, emitted in the form of aerosols by breathing, coughing or sneezing, of variable size in the order of micrometres. In particular, due to the small size of most of the particles constituting such aerosols, which can reach diameters of even less than 1 μm, their residence in air can last for several hours. Notoriously, pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. can be deactivated by exposure to UV radiation. In this respect, the equipment typically used for sanitising environments uses UV lamps which emit radiation at a wavelength of around 254 nm, of which, however, the danger to man has been demonstrated. As an alternative to the widely and commonly used germicidal UV lamps mentioned above, in order to reduce the risk for humans, there has recently been the diffusion of excimer lamps, or sources of narrow-band UV radiation produced by the spontaneous emission of unstable molecular complexes in the excited state (i.e., excimers), mainly consisting of dimers of noble gases or a halogen atom bound to a noble gas atom. In the field of environmental sanitation, in addition to high efficiency and intensity, these devices offer the emission of far UV wavelength radiation, whose non-hazardous nature has been ascertained for humans. In particular, the lamps made for this purpose, carrying out their antimicrobial action by means of light emission at a wavelength equal to 222 nm or 175 nm, allow their use in populated environments. In this context, document US2020030469A1 reports a device for sterilising air and surfaces consisting of an excimer lamp at 222 nm, which is even proposed to be applied to the epidermis to obtain the rapid disinfection thereof. Currently, however, such lamps have spread mostly for the implementation of lighting systems, it follows that they do not provide a photon density per aerial volume such as to ensure the sanitation of entire environments. A system for air sanitation in confined spaces, based on its disinfection by generation of a UV ray curtain is reported in document KR20130034192. The system described offers a solution for sanitising passage areas of normally crowded environments, and comprises a fixed frame inside which a UV lamp is positioned which generates an ultraviolet radiation curtain intended to reduce or minimise the penetration of pathogens from the outside. Such a system, although it prevents the spread of viruses and bacteria between communicating environments, cannot be used when the environments in question are populated, given the toxicity of radiation for humans. Furthermore, the system is inefficient because if the air rapidly passes through the UV barrier created by the device, the UV rays do not act on the passing air for a sufficient time to sanitise it. Another system for air sanitation in confined environments comprising UV light sources is described in KR201100031810. In this system, a UV curtain is not created, but instead an air curtain previously sanitised by virtue of UV exposure is created through a blower. The blower is located inside a container body which has an air inlet opening at which there is a first source of UV rays and an air outlet opening at which there is a second UV source. The air outlet opening allows the air to escape which is pushed from the blower in a curtain air flow which introduces sanitised air int