Sterilization method and sterilization system

Abstract

To provide a safe, optimal and highly flexible sterilization method. This sterilization method comprises a sterilization area setting step of setting in advance a sterilization area within a specified human activity area, a peripheral area setting step of setting in advance a peripheral area adjacent to or close to the sterilization area, an irradiation mode determination step of determining the irradiation mode of sterilizing electromagnetic waves to the sterilization area based on peripheral area information acquired from the peripheral area, and a sterilization electromagnetic wave irradiation step of irradiating the sterilization area with sterilizing electromagnetic waves in the irradiation mode.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sterilization method for sterilizing a predetermined area by using sterilizing electromagnetic waves such as ultraviolet rays. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional UV sterilizers installed in rooms or facilities indiscriminately radiate UV rays around them to disinfect the entire area they reach. Therefore, these types of UV sterilizers are operated by managers or other personnel after business hours or other times when human activity has ended and no one is present.

[0003] Recently, as shown in Patent Document 1, a technology is being developed that tracks people in a room or facility and sterilizes the people by irradiating them with ultraviolet light while avoiding them. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 10639390 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the case of the former, sterilization is not possible when people are present and active in the room or facility, etc. Therefore, bacteria and viruses cannot be killed during the period of human activity, and it is not possible to respond to human infection.

[0006] In the latter case, sterilization by ultraviolet light is possible even when people are active, so the problems of the former are unlikely to occur. However, because ultraviolet light is simply irradiated while avoiding people, it is not possible to set areas where you want to sterilize intensively, and there is a lack of consideration for optimizing sterilization efficiency. There is also a lack of consideration for ensuring safety in unforeseen cases, such as when a person suddenly starts running, and these issues have not been sufficiently considered.

[0007] The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems in a sterilization method for sterilizing a room or the like using sterilizing electromagnetic waves including ultraviolet rays, and to enable optimal and safe sterilization even in the presence of humans. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The sterilization method of the present invention is characterized by comprising a sterilization area setting step of setting in advance a sterilization area within a specified human activity area, a peripheral area setting step of setting in advance a peripheral area adjacent to or close to the sterilization area, an irradiation mode determination step of determining the irradiation mode of sterilizing electromagnetic waves to the sterilization area based on peripheral area information acquired from the peripheral area, and a sterilization electromagnetic wave irradiation step of irradiating the sterilization area with sterilizing electromagnetic waves in the irradiation mode. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the above configuration, an autonomous or automatic sterilization method is used, making it possible to perform sterilization even while people are active, while, for example, at the user's discretion, it is possible to set it so that sterilization is concentrated in areas where it is highly effective and sterilization is not performed in areas where it is less effective, thereby making it possible to sterilize areas where sterilization is more necessary in a shorter time and more efficiently.

[0010] Furthermore, during autonomous sterilization, the mode of irradiation of sterilizing electromagnetic waves is determined taking into account not only information indicating the presence or absence of humans in the sterilization area, but also information about the surrounding area, thereby improving safety. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a sterilization system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the sterilizer and the human activity area in the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a sterilizer in the same embodiment. [Figure 4] 13 is an example of a user dashboard displayed on an information processing terminal used by a user in the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 13 is a screen diagram showing a region setting screen in the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is a screen diagram showing a secondary ultraviolet ray irradiation area in the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] 13 is a screen diagram showing a region setting screen in the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the sterilization system in the embodiment. [Figure 9] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the sterilization system in the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] 1. Overall structure 1 and 2, the sterilization system 100 according to this embodiment includes one or more sterilizers 200 installed in a human activity area A such as a room or facility where people enter and exit or stay, and an information processing terminal device 300 communicably connected to the sterilizer 200. Note that sterilization here refers to the annihilation or reduction of not only bacteria but also other (harmful) microorganisms and viruses.

[0014] 2.Each part configuration [1] Sterilizer 200 As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the sterilizer 200 comprises a housing 1 attached to, for example, the ceiling of the human activity area A, and an ultraviolet emitting device 2, a human recognition sensor 3, an ultraviolet irradiating range detection mechanism 4 (shown in Figure 3), a human presence sensor (not shown), and a control device 5 housed within the housing 1. The configuration of each part will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

[0015] (1-1) Cabinet 1 This housing 1 comprises a main casing 11, a movable casing 12 attached to this main casing 11 by a universal joint or the like so that its position can be changed, and a driving mechanism such as a motor (not shown) that drives and changes the position of this movable casing 12.

[0016] (1-2) Ultraviolet emitting device 2 (electromagnetic wave emitting device for sterilization) Here, this ultraviolet emitting device 2 comprises a first light source 21 such as an ultraviolet LED or a mercury lamp, and a first light projection optical system 22 such as a lens or a half mirror, and emits ultraviolet rays (sterilizing electromagnetic waves, for example UV-C) having a predetermined directionality from an emission window provided in the movable casing 12 in accordance with the attitude direction of the movable casing 12.

[0017] (1-3) Human Recognition Sensor 3 This human recognition sensor 3 detects the presence and position of a human, and in this case, is equipped with a visible light camera 31 held in the main casing 11, and image analysis software that identifies the position of a human from visible light image data captured by this visible light camera 31.

[0018] The visible light camera 31 is equipped with a light receiving optical system 311 including a wide-angle lens etc. provided on the bottom surface of the main casing 11, and a two-dimensional area sensor 312 that detects the visible light introduced and imaged by this light receiving optical system 311, and is installed in a posture and orientation that allows it to image the entire human activity area A.

[0019] The image analysis software is installed in the control device 5 described later. This image analysis software uses AI (Artificial Intelligence), analyzes the visible light image data, identifies the position of the human in the human activity area A, and outputs human position data indicating the position. Specifically, the image analysis software is given various human image data as teacher data in advance, and performs machine learning on the image data to identify the human from the visible light image data of the human activity area A and identify the position. The machine learning method is assumed to be deep learning, but is not limited to this. Note that the image analysis software may not only use AI, but may also be non-AI type software that recognizes humans based on differences between image data or image data that has been subjected to edge processing, or may be software that recognizes humans by combining these methods with AI.

[0020] (1-4) Ultraviolet ray irradiation range detection mechanism 4 (sterilization electromagnetic wave irradiation range detection mechanism) The ultraviolet ray irradiation range detection mechanism 4 here includes an infrared ray emitting device 41 (non-sterilization electromagnetic wave emitting device) and an infrared ray detection sensor 42 (non-sterilization electromagnetic wave detection sensor).

[0021] The infrared emitting device 41 includes a second light source 411 such as an infrared LED or a halogen lamp, and a second light projecting optical system 412 such as a lens or a mirror, and is configured to emit infrared rays (non-sterilizing electromagnetic waves, for example, IR) having substantially the same axis and the same directivity as the ultraviolet rays from an exit window of the movable casing 12, that is, the area irradiated with the infrared rays matches the area irradiated with the ultraviolet rays. Note that, in the drawing, the second light projecting optical system 412 has a part, such as a lens, shared with the first light projecting optical system 22, but it may be separate from the first light projecting optical system 22 by being disposed adjacent to it, without sharing it with the first light projecting optical system 22.

[0022] The infrared detection sensor 42 here is an infrared camera that captures an image of the human activity area A. The infrared detection sensor 42 includes a second light receiving optical system 421 including a wide-angle lens and an infrared transmission filter provided on the bottom surface of the main casing 11, and a two-dimensional area sensor 422 that detects infrared light introduced from the second light receiving optical system 421. The infrared detection sensor 42 captures an image of the human activity area A and outputs infrared image data showing the area irradiated with infrared light.

[0023] As described above, since the area irradiated with infrared light and the area irradiated with ultraviolet light coincide with each other, the area detected from the infrared image data becomes the ultraviolet light irradiated area.

[0024] In the figure, the two-dimensional area sensor 422 and lens in this infrared detection sensor 42 are shared with those of the visible light camera 31, and it is possible to selectively capture either a visible light image or an infrared image by switching a bandpass filter not shown, but this infrared detection sensor (infrared camera) 42 and the visible light camera 31 may be disposed close to each other and may be separate entities.

[0025] (1-5) Human presence sensor In addition to the human recognition sensor 3, in this embodiment, a human presence sensor (TOF type sensor / pyroelectric type sensor, not shown) is provided in parallel to the ultraviolet emitting device 2. This human presence sensor detects the presence or absence of a human being, and plays a backup role for the human recognition sensor 3.

[0026] (1-6) Control device 5 This control device 5 is a computer equipped with a CPU, memory, an I / O interface, a communication interface, etc., and the CPU and its peripheral devices work together in accordance with a program stored in the memory to receive signals from the human recognition sensor 3 and the infrared detection sensor 42, analyze the contents of the signals, and control the operation of the ultraviolet emitting device 2 and the infrared emitting device 41.

[0027] [2] Information processing terminal device 300 As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing terminal device 300 is used by an administrator or operator (hereinafter collectively referred to as a user) of the sterilization system 100, and is a so-called general-purpose computer equipped with a CPU, memory, an I / O interface, a communication interface, a display, and input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is communicatively connected to the control device 5 via an information and communication network such as a LAN or WAN, or a dedicated line.

[0028] 3. Setting, operation, etc. of the sterilization system 100 Next, an example of a setting method and operation of the present sterilization system 100 will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and 9 and the human activity space plans of FIGS.

[0029] [1] Initial settings (1-1) Setting of sterilization area B (Figure 8: Step S1) First, the user defines the sterilization area B, that is, a sterilization area setting step is performed.

[0030] Specifically, the information processing terminal device 300 displays on its display (user dashboard) a visible light image (an example is shown in FIG. 4) of the human activity area A captured by the visible light camera 31, and prompts the user to specify a sterilization area B within the visible light image, which is an area to be directly irradiated with ultraviolet light. Note that instead of a visible light image, a drawing of the human activity area A, such as the CAD drawing shown in FIG. 2, may be displayed on the display. Note that the following describes a case where a drawing such as FIG. 2 is displayed on the display.

[0031] Next, the user uses input means such as a mouse or touch panel to specify and input one or more sterilization areas B within the human activity area image on the display as shown in Fig. 5. Then, the control device 5 receives sterilization area data indicating each sterilization area B from the information processing terminal device 300 and stores it in a specified area of ​​the memory.

[0032] At this time, the TOF sensor detects the 3D layout of the human activity area or sterilization area, and the control device 5 calculates the surface orientation of each part of the sterilization area by calculation. As a result, the control device 5 calculates the angle between the direction of the irradiated ultraviolet light and the surface of each part of the sterilization area, and uses this information as calibration data for ensuring the ultraviolet light irradiation amount necessary for sterilization. For example, if the irradiation angle is shallow, the irradiation time is lengthened accordingly to ensure the irradiation amount.

[0033] (1-2) Setting of the surrounding area C (FIG. 8: step S2) Next, the user defines the surrounding area C, that is, a surrounding area setting step is performed.

[0034] Specifically, first, in response to an instruction from the control device 5, the infrared emitting device 41 irradiates the sterilization area B with infrared rays. If this sterilization area B is larger than the area irradiated with infrared rays once, the infrared rays are scanned and irradiated thoroughly over the entire sterilization area.

[0035] During this infrared irradiation, the infrared camera captures an infrared image of the human activity area A in response to an instruction from the control device 5. This detects not only the infrared rays directly irradiated onto the sterilization area, but also the area where the infrared rays are secondarily irradiated due to reflection, scattering, etc., and therefore the secondary ultraviolet ray irradiation area D, which is an affected area where there is a high possibility of secondarily irradiating ultraviolet rays, as shown in Fig. 6. This is the affected area acquisition step, which is, in a sense, a simulation of ultraviolet ray irradiation.

[0036] The control device 5 transmits to the information processing terminal device 300 secondary ultraviolet ray irradiation area data which is data indicating this secondary ultraviolet ray irradiation area.

[0037] The information processing terminal device 300 that has received this displays the secondary ultraviolet ray irradiation area D within the visible light image on the display, and prompts the user to specify a surrounding area C outside the sterilization area B.

[0038] Since the surrounding area C is an area that cannot be considered safe when exposed to ultraviolet light, the user refers to this secondary ultraviolet light irradiation area D and specifies and inputs the surrounding area C corresponding to each sterilization area B using an input means such as a mouse or touch panel, as shown in Figure 7 (the user will likely specify the surrounding area C so as to include all of the secondary ultraviolet light irradiation area D).

[0039] Then, the control device 5 receives surrounding area data indicating this surrounding area C from the information processing terminal device 300, and stores it in a predetermined area of ​​the memory.

[0040] [2] Acquisition of sterilization area information (contamination level) (Figure 8: steps S3 to S5) Next, the control device 5 acquires the contamination level, which is one piece of the sterilization area information.

[0041] When the initial settings are completed and the user operates the present sterilization device, first, human recognition is performed by the human recognition sensor 3.

[0042] Specifically, the human recognition sensor 3 identifies the position of a human at each predetermined sampling time based on the visible light image data.

[0043] The control device 5 sequentially acquires this human position data and, based on this, calculates the position and movement trajectory of the human within the human activity area A. Then, it calculates the degree of contamination according to the time the human stayed at each location within the human activity area A, and stores the contamination level data indicating the contamination level of each sterilization area in a specified area of ​​the memory.

[0044] This degree of contamination increases as the time spent by people increases, but if no people are present for a predetermined period of time or longer, the degree of contamination may be decreased accordingly.

[0045] [3] Setting the irradiation target (Figure 8: Step S6) When the degree of contamination of the sterilization area B exceeds a preset threshold value, the control device 5 registers the sterilization area B as an irradiation target in a predetermined area of ​​the memory.

[0046] [4] Calculation of UV irradiation dose (Figure 9: step S7) Next, the control device 5 selects one irradiation target from among the irradiation targets (sterilization area B) whose safety has been confirmed in a predetermined order, and calculates the ultraviolet irradiation amount required for sterilization at that irradiation target according to the contamination level. At this time, the ultraviolet irradiation amount is calibrated according to the distance from the ultraviolet emitting device 2 to the sterilization area B and the direction of the sterilization surface.

[0047] The amount of ultraviolet irradiation is determined by multiplying the irradiation intensity by the irradiation time, but since the intensity of ultraviolet is constant here, the irradiation amount is increased by increasing the irradiation time, and the irradiation intensity is increased when the irradiation time is kept constant.

[0048] [5] Safety (human presence) check (Figure 9: steps S8 and S9) Next, the control device 5 uses the human recognition sensor 3 to confirm the presence of a human, which is one piece of information about the sterilization area B registered as the irradiation target and the surrounding area C associated with this sterilization area B.

[0049] At this time, a human presence sensor mounted in parallel to the ultraviolet emitting device 2 also reconfirms (backs up) that no human is present in the direction of irradiation, thereby ensuring safety.

[0050] Furthermore, the control device 5 activates the ultraviolet irradiation range detection mechanism 4 to irradiate infrared light prior to ultraviolet irradiation and acquire an infrared image, thereby confirming that the ultraviolet light is indeed directed toward the target position and that the reflected light, etc. does not extend outside the surrounding area C.

[0051] If safety cannot be confirmed here, the control device 5 does not irradiate the sterilization area with ultraviolet light for the time being, and proceeds to processing the next target for ultraviolet light irradiation (FIG. 9: steps S13 and S14).

[0052] [6] Ultraviolet irradiation (Step S10) When safety is confirmed, the control device 5 controls the ultraviolet emitting device 2 to irradiate the target sterilization area B with ultraviolet light until the irradiation amount (here, the irradiation time) calculated as described above is reached.

[0053] The safety confirmation steps S8 and S9 are continued even during ultraviolet irradiation, and if the safety conditions are violated, the ultraviolet irradiation is immediately interrupted (FIG. 9: step S13).

[0054] When the ultraviolet irradiation is completed or interrupted, the control device 5 proceeds to process the next ultraviolet irradiation target (FIG. 9: step S14).

[0055] When sterilization of all irradiation targets is completed, the control device 5 returns to step 3 again and starts processing for each sterilization area B, unless an instruction to end the sterilization operation is given (FIG. 9: step S15).

[0056] [7] Update the contamination level (Figure 9: Step S11) The control device 5 reduces the contamination level of the sterilization area B according to the amount of ultraviolet irradiation. Specifically, the contamination level is reduced according to the irradiation time. The contamination level at the time when the ultraviolet irradiation is normally completed is naturally lower than the set threshold value.

[0057] On the other hand, if UV irradiation is interrupted for some reason, the contamination level at that time is stored in memory. If the contamination level still exceeds the set threshold, the sterilization area B remains registered as an irradiation target, and UV irradiation is resumed when safety conditions are restored.

[0058] [8] Display of sterilization status The control device 5 sequentially transmits status data indicating the sterilization status of the human activity area A to the information processing terminal device, and the information processing terminal device 300 is configured to display this sterilization status on a display in response to a user's operation or at all times.

[0059] The sterilization status here refers to the sterilization processing status for each sterilization area B (waiting for sterilization / disinfecting / completed), the contamination level of each sterilization area B, etc. This allows the user to check the status of each sterilization area B and select a sterilization area B that can be used.

[0060] 4.Effects According to the above configuration, a fully autonomous or automatic sterilization method using AI, etc. is used, making it possible to perform sterilization even while people are active, but rather than "leaving it to" the AI, the user can decide to concentrate sterilization on areas where it is most effective and not sterilize areas where it is less effective, thereby efficiently sterilizing areas that really need sterilization in a short amount of time, and making it possible to design and implement procedures that reflect the "user's intentions."

[0061] Moreover, during autonomous sterilization, the mode of irradiation of the sterilizing electromagnetic waves is determined taking into account not only information indicating the presence or absence of humans in the sterilization area B, but also information about the surrounding area C, thereby greatly improving safety.

[0062] 5. Features of the sterilization system 100 The features of the sterilization system 100 described above can be summarized as follows:

[0063] (Disclosure 1) A sterilization method for sterilizing a predetermined human activity area A, comprising: A sterilization area setting step of setting a sterilization area B in advance within the human activity area A; A peripheral area setting step of setting a peripheral area C adjacent to or close to the sterilization area B in advance; a surrounding area information acquisition step of acquiring surrounding area information which is information regarding the surrounding area C; An irradiation mode determination step of determining an irradiation mode of ultraviolet rays (sterilizing electromagnetic waves) for the sterilization area B based on the surrounding area information; and an ultraviolet ray (electromagnetic wave for sterilization) irradiation step of irradiating the sterilization area B with ultraviolet ray (electromagnetic wave for sterilization) in the irradiation mode.

[0064] (Disclosure 2) The method further includes an influence range acquisition step of acquiring an influence range that the sterilization electromagnetic wave may have an influence on, The surrounding area C is set based on the range of influence, The sterilization method described in Disclosure 1, wherein the affected range is detected or calculated by irradiating the sterilization area B with non-sterilizing electromagnetic waves.

[0065] (Disclosure 3) 3. The sterilization method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the surrounding area setting step further comprises an influence area display step of displaying the influence area on a display device.

[0066] (Disclosure 4) The sterilization method described in any of Disclosures 1 to 3, characterized in that the surrounding area information includes human presence information indicating the presence or absence of a human within the surrounding area C, and when this human presence information indicates the presence of a human in the surrounding area C, the irradiation intensity, which is the irradiation mode of ultraviolet rays (sterilizing electromagnetic waves), is reduced or set to zero, compared to when the information does not indicate the presence of a human.

[0067] (Disclosure 5) The irradiation mode is further determined based on sterilization area information acquired from the sterilization area B, The sterilization area information includes the contamination level and human presence information of the sterilization area B, A sterilization method as described in any of Disclosures 1 to 4, characterized in that when a human is present in the sterilization area B, irradiation of ultraviolet rays (sterilizing electromagnetic waves) is stopped, and the irradiation mode of the sterilizing electromagnetic waves to the sterilization area B after the human has left is determined according to the level of contamination in the sterilization area B before ultraviolet irradiation, such as the irradiation amount, irradiation intensity, irradiated area, or any combination of these.

[0068] (Disclosure 6) The sterilization method according to Disclosure 5, wherein the degree of contamination is determined based on the length of time a person stays in the area before sterilization.

[0069] (Disclosure 7) An ultraviolet ray (electromagnetic wave for sterilization) emitting device 2 that emits ultraviolet ray (electromagnetic wave for sterilization); A control device 5 controls the ultraviolet (sterilizing electromagnetic wave) emitting device 2. The control device 5 sets a sterilization area B within the human activity area A based on an input by a user, A peripheral area C is set adjacent to or close to the sterilization area B, Obtain surrounding area information which is information regarding the surrounding area C; A sterilization system 100 characterized by determining the irradiation pattern of ultraviolet rays (electromagnetic waves for sterilization) for the sterilization area B based on the surrounding area information, and controlling the ultraviolet ray (electromagnetic waves for sterilization) emission device 2 to achieve that irradiation pattern.

[0070] 6. Other embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. In the above embodiment, the surrounding area was set by user input, but the control device may automatically set the surrounding area to include the secondary ultraviolet irradiation area based on the detected area.

[0071] In the above embodiment, the surrounding area information only indicated the presence or absence of a human, but it may also include, for example, the direction and speed of human movement. For example, if a human is moving away from the sterilization area, ultraviolet light may be irradiated even if a human is present in the surrounding area.

[0072] In the above embodiment, the sterilization area information includes the duration of human presence and the presence or absence of human presence, but the sterilization area information may include the duration of continuous human absence. For example, if the duration of human absence is long, the contamination level may be reduced.

[0073] In the above embodiment, if a person is present in the surrounding area, ultraviolet irradiation in the corresponding sterilization area is stopped, but the irradiation intensity may be reduced rather than set to 0. Also, if a person passes through the sterilization area without entering it, the irradiation intensity may be returned to its original level to sterilize the sterilization area.

[0074] In the above embodiment, the time spent by a person in the sterilization area is scored as the degree of contamination, and the sterilization strength for the sterilization area is determined based on this value, but it is also possible to sterilize uniformly without determining the degree of contamination. In that case, it is also possible to sterilize the sterilization areas in order of the number of sterilizations in a certain period of time in the past.

[0075] In addition to ultraviolet light, other electromagnetic waves such as blue light and microwaves may be used as long as they can sterilize. In addition, the devices and sensors in the above embodiments may be modified in various ways as long as they have the same functions as the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for sterilizing a predetermined human activity area, comprising: Setting a sterilization area within the human activity area; A peripheral area is set adjacent to or close to the sterilization area, Obtaining surrounding area information that is information about the surrounding area; determining a mode of irradiation of the sterilization area with the sterilization electromagnetic wave based on the surrounding area information; A sterilization method comprising irradiating the sterilization area with sterilizing electromagnetic waves in the irradiation mode.

2. The scope of influence that the sterilizing electromagnetic waves may have is further obtained, The surrounding area is set based on the range of influence, The sterilization method according to claim 1 , wherein the affected range is detected or calculated by irradiating the sterilization area with non-sterilizing electromagnetic waves.

3. The sterilization method according to claim 2, wherein the range of influence is displayed on a display device when the peripheral area is set.

4. 2. The sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding area information includes human presence information indicating the presence or absence of a human in the surrounding area, and when the human presence information indicates the presence of a human in the surrounding area, irradiation intensity, which is one of the irradiation modes of the sterilizing electromagnetic wave, is reduced or set to zero compared to when the human presence information indicates the absence of a human.

5. The irradiation mode is further determined based on sterilization area information acquired from the sterilization area, The sterilization area information includes a contamination level and human presence information of the sterilization area, 2. The sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein irradiation of the sterilizing electromagnetic wave is stopped when a human is present in the sterilization area, and the irradiation mode of the sterilizing electromagnetic wave to the sterilization area after the human has left, that is, the irradiation amount, irradiation intensity, irradiated area, or any combination of these, is determined according to the level of contamination in the sterilization area before the irradiation of the sterilizing electromagnetic wave.

6. 6. The sterilization method according to claim 5, wherein the degree of contamination is determined based on the duration of time that a person stays in the area before sterilization.

7. A sterilization system for sterilizing a predetermined human activity area, comprising: a sterilization electromagnetic wave emitting device that emits sterilization electromagnetic waves; a control device for controlling the sterilization electromagnetic wave emitting device, This control device is Setting a sterilization area within the human activity area based on a user input; A peripheral area is set adjacent to or close to the sterilization area, Obtaining surrounding area information that is information about the surrounding area; a sterilization system which determines an irradiation mode of the sterilization electromagnetic wave for the sterilization area based on the surrounding area information, and controls the sterilization electromagnetic wave emitting device to achieve the irradiation mode.

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