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US-20260124330-A1 - TARGETED SURFACE DISINFECTION SYSTEM WITH PULSED UV LIGHT

US20260124330A1US 20260124330 A1US20260124330 A1US 20260124330A1US-20260124330-A1

Abstract

Embodiments of a targeted surface disinfection system are disclosed. The system includes a set of one or more UV lamps, a high voltage power supply for driving the lamps, a mobile carriage including a chassis supporting the set, an articulated head assembly including at least one UV lamp from the set, a vacuum pump, and a suction hose extending between the vacuum pump and the head assembly for dissipating heat generated by the at least one UV lamp. The system also includes a pulse configuration control unit for configuring an output of the high voltage power supply for driving the set to emit a UV radiant energy upon a target surface requiring disinfection, where the set of one or more UV lamps emits the UV radiant energy at a rate of at least 20 pulses per second.

Inventors

  • Prakash Valentino Ramanand
  • Manjinder Singh Dhillon
  • Adam Ray Steinhoff
  • Vinod K. MENON

Assignees

  • SOLARIS DISINFECTION INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251219

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A targeted surface disinfection system, comprising: a plurality of lamps including at least one UV lamp; a high voltage power supply for driving the plurality of lamps; a pulse configuration control unit for configuring an output of the high voltage power supply, wherein the pulse configuration control unit is programmed for driving the plurality of lamps to emit radiant energy upon a target surface requiring disinfection at a combined frequency of at least 20 Hz; and a remote device for driving a controller configured to operate a portion of the targeted surface disinfection system, the portion including the at least one UV lamp, wherein the remote device drives the controller to remotely rotate the portion.
  2. 2 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving the plurality of lamps to emit a combined output of at least 30 Joules of radiant energy per pulse.
  3. 3 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 1 or 2 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving at least two of the plurality of lamps at different frequencies, wherein each of the at least two of the plurality of lamps emits constant or same radiant energy per pulse.
  4. 4 . The targeted surface disinfection system of any one of claims 1-3 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for simultaneously driving the plurality of lamps at a frequency range of between 20 Hz and 50 Hz.
  5. 5 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving the at least one UV lamp to emit an output of between 30 and 150 Joules of radiant energy per pulse.
  6. 6 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 1 or 5 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving the at least one UV lamp to emit a predefined amount of radiant energy for disinfecting the target surface from a distance of at least 10 feet.
  7. 7 . The targeted surface disinfection system of any one of claims 1 and 5-6 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving the at least one UV lamp to emit a predefined amount of radiant energy for at least 30 seconds.
  8. 8 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 1 , wherein the remote device comprises a smart handheld device.
  9. 9 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 1 , further comprising a mobile carriage for supporting the portion or the system, wherein at least one of the mobile carriage and the portion is configured to move autonomously.
  10. 10 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 9 , further comprising a cabinet supported by the mobile carriage, wherein the cabinet includes a recess for receiving the at least one UV lamp based on the portion being moved about a predetermined axis relative to the mobile carriage.
  11. 11 . The targeted surface disinfection system of any one of claims 1 and 9-10 , wherein the portion comprises an articulated assembly.
  12. 12 . A targeted surface disinfection system, comprising: a plurality of UV lamps; a high voltage power supply for driving the plurality of UV lamps; a pulse configuration control unit for configuring an output of the high voltage power supply, wherein the pulse configuration control unit is programmed for simultaneously driving the plurality of UV lamps to emit radiant energy upon a target surface requiring disinfection at a frequency of at least 20 Hz; and a remote device for driving a controller configured to operate a portion of the targeted surface disinfection system, the portion including at least one UV lamp from the plurality of UV lamps, wherein the remote device drives the controller to remotely rotate the portion.
  13. 13 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 12 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving the plurality of UV lamps to emit a combined output of at least 30 Joules of radiant energy per pulse.
  14. 14 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 12 or 13 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving the plurality of UV lamps at a combined frequency range of between 20 Hz and 50 Hz.
  15. 15 . The targeted surface disinfection system of any one of claims 12-14 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving the at least one UV lamp from the plurality of UV lamps to emit between 30 and 150 Joules of radiant energy per pulse.
  16. 16 . The targeted surface disinfection system of any one of claims 12-15 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving the at least one UV lamp to emit a predefined amount of radiant energy for disinfecting the target surface from a distance of at least 10 feet.
  17. 17 . The targeted surface disinfection system of any one of claims 12-16 , wherein the pulse configuration control unit is further programmed for driving the at least one UV lamp to emit a predefined amount of radiant energy for at least 30 seconds.
  18. 18 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 12 , wherein the remote device comprises a smart handheld device.
  19. 19 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 12 , further comprising a mobile carriage supporting the portion or the system, wherein at least one of the mobile carriage and the portion is configured to move autonomously.
  20. 20 . The targeted surface disinfection system of claim 19 , further comprising a cabinet supported by the mobile carriage, wherein the cabinet includes a recess for receiving the at least one UV lamp based on the portion being moved about a predetermined axis relative to the mobile carriage.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/143,000, filed May 3, 2023, which was a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/691,019, filed Nov. 21, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,672,878 issued on Jun. 13, 2023, which is a continuation-in-part application of the U.S. Patent Application No. 15,095/212 filed on Apr. 11, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,485,887 issued on Nov. 26, 2019, which claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/146,299, filed on Apr. 12, 2015. The entirety of each of these prior applications is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for disinfection and decontamination of surfaces and, in particular, to systems and methods which employ pulses of Ultra Violet (UV) light for surface disinfection and decontamination. 2. Antecedents of the Invention UV radiation has been employed for disinfection and decontamination of surfaces, air, and liquids. It is considered to be one of the best non-contact decontamination processes. The UV-C region of the UV spectrum has been found to be the most lethal to microorganisms; the strongest germicidal effects have been reported to be in the wave-length from 200 nm to 280 nm. This part of the spectrum has been found lethal to several ranges of microorganisms. Traditionally, UV radiation for disinfection employed medium pressure mercury vapor lamps to generate UV radiation. In recent decades, pulsed xenon lamps have been found to be much more effective than other UV light emitting technology. There are several reasons which play a critical role in the efficacy of pulsed xenon UV radiation used for disinfection. One is the broadband spectrum of UV discharge in xenon lamps. Another reason is that pulsed xenon UV systems have the capability of discharging several megawatts of UV energy in micro-seconds or milliseconds, causing irreversible changes in the cellular level in the microorganisms exposed. Pulsed xenon UV light technology was first developed in Japan. In 1984 Hiramoto patented pulsed UV light technology for sterilization applications. Since then it has been employed for various applications involving disinfection and decontamination. The spectral output of a UV xenon lamp is very similar to that of sunlight. It goes from 180 nm to 1100 nm, with some major spikes in visible region of the spectrum. The xenon UV discharge lamp can be designed in different geometries to best fit the application. That makes the pulsed UV system very flexible. The system can be tailored to best fit the application in terms of energy requirement. The energy dissipated can be controlled in terms of number of pulses, energy per pulse, and pulse width. Since the xenon UV flash tube discharges in pulses, the existing systems are not a good fit for applications involving fast moving targets. Characteristics of Pulsed UV Light Relevant to Disinfection Pulsed light energy is typically measured in fluence and is related to fluence rate. Fluence rate is the total radiant energy falling on a small transparent sphere containing a target from all possible directions, divided by a cross section of the target. It is generally expressed in W/m2. Fluence can be defined as the product of fluence rate, exposure time in seconds and a total amount of energy incident on the target during the exposure time. It is expressed in J/m2 or J/cm2. F=e*t*f Where F is the fluence (J/cm2), “e” is the energy per pulse (J/cm2/pulse), “t” is the time in seconds, and “f” is the frequency. A well-known general rule in photochemistry, the Bunsen-Roscoe reciprocity law, states that the extent of photochemical effects on living beings is determined by cumulative irradiance. Accordingly, for disinfection applications, the current methods and apparatuses using pulsed UV light technology tend to employ high UV energy per pulse, and relatively low frequencies of 1-2 pulses per second. Typical prior art systems employing pulsed xenon UV lamps for disinfection are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,093,258, 8,872,669 and 9,165,756 as well as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013-0330235. These systems suffered from various shortcomings, however. They employed a lower pulse frequency (typically below 2 Hz), therefore took longer time to inactivate germs. They employed a high discharge energy per pulse (typically more than 500 joules), therefore the generated noise level was high (manifested as loud popping sounds) causing disturbance around the treated area. The high energy of discharge also generated an unsafe amount of ozone, which had to be removed by specialized fans and filters, contributing to additional cost, complexity, and noise. They employed a 360-degree, all around flashing UV light geometry for entire room disinfection, thereby wasting energy if only certain limited surfaces were in need of treatment. To compe