A UV light-emitting device for reduction of the microbial pressure inside a building and a lighting arrangement with such devices
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/EP2025/055792
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-03-05
- Filing Date
- 2025-03-04
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-02
AI Technical Summary
Existing UV light-emitting devices for reducing microbial pressure in buildings expose humans and animals to harmful UVC light, while failing to effectively inactivate airborne pathogens and enhance vitamin D3 production.
A UV light-emitting device with separate directional UVB and UVC light sources, where UVC light is directed away from the room and UVC light is integrated into the ventilation system to inactivate airborne microbes, and optionally includes a visible light source for comprehensive lighting.
Effectively reduces microbial pressure by inactivating pathogens without harming humans or animals, while enhancing vitamin D3 production by directing UVC light away from occupants and integrating it into the ventilation system.
Smart Images
Figure EP2025055792_02102025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] A UV LIGHT-EMITTING DEVICE FOR REDUCTION OF THE MICROBIAL PRESSURE
[0002] INSIDE A BUILDING AND A LIGHTING ARRANGEMENT WITH SUCH DEVICES
[0003] FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention relates to an UV light-emitting device for reduction of the microbial pressure inside a building. The invention further relates a lighting arrangement with such devices.
[0005] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A UV light-emitting device of such kind is known from WO 2022 / 268768 Al, which is incorporated by reference. In this disclosure there is described a light emitting unit that is configured to emit light in a number of wavelength ranges, e.g., two, three or more important wavelength ranges, particularly in the UVB range, as well as in the UVC range and also in the visible light range.
[0007] Such a light emitting unit is advantageous since the lighting device using the combined UVB and UVC wavelengths provides a significant reduction in the microbial pressure in a room of a building by inactivating bacteria and virus suspended in the air as aerosols, including resistant bacteria, such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and virus, such as swine acute diarrhoea syndrome-coronavirus (SADS-CoV). Presence of airborne microorganisms in animal housing facilities affects the quality of air in those facilities leading to exposing animals, workers of the facilities as well as people in neighbouring areas to pathogens. Intensive farming may result in an unsatisfactory increased level of microbial pressure, in particular from zoonoses and aerosols, inside the animal farm production facilities, potentially leading to significant health risks.
[0008] Furthermore, humans and domesticated animals in many cases when kept indoors, such as in a stable, are not able to naturally produce, at a satisfactory level, vitamin D3. Natural light (sunlight) enhances the natural production of vitamin D3 in the skin of humans and animals. Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin from 7-dehydrocholesterol by ultra violet (UV) light of the B-type (UV-B). UV-B is present in the spectrum of natural light and hence the exposure of skin to natural light drives the formation of Natural vitamin D3 (ND3) in the skin. ND3 has a crucial function in the immune system and in the development and maintenance of the skeleton and bones.
[0009] However, it is known the UVC light is harmful to humans and animals and therefore it is an object by the present invention to provide a UV light emitting unit where animals and humans being present in a building, where such lighting devices are mounted, are not exposed to the UVC components of the UV emission.
[0010] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] This object is achieved in a first aspect of the invention by providing a UV lightemitting device for reduction of the microbial pressure inside a building, said device comprising
[0012] - a housing having an exterior side and an interior side and an upper portion and a lower portion;
[0013] - a first LED UV-light source, which is a directional light source of UVB light having a first lighting direction through the lower portion of the housing;
[0014] - a plurality of second LED UV-light sources arranged on the exterior side of the upper portion of the housing, and which are directional light sources of UVC light each having a second lighting direction, wherein and each of the second UV-light sources are provided with a light beam angle of up to 30°, and wherein the second lighting directions define a plane substantially perpendicular to said first lighting direction and substantially parallel to the building floor when installed.
[0015] By providing the two UV light sources with different lighting directions, it is possible to provide the harmful UVC components in the second light source and direct this light source in an orientation away from the area of the room where animals or humans are present and thereby keep the UVC light along the ceiling or roof of the building due to a relatively small light beam angle. Due to the design of the housing of the UV light-emitting device, the two light sources, i.e. the downwardly, or substantially vertically, directed UVB light and the substantially horizontally directed UVC light are not interfering with each other and can be provided without having to reflect the emitted light in order to have it directed in a particular direction. Hereby, no energy loss is realized and the effectiveness of the UCV emitting device is increased.
[0016] It is furthermore found advantageous, that as the air inside the building is regularly ventilated predominantly from the top to the bottom of the building, the ambient air is passing the upper region of the room, where the air is subjected to the UVC light and thereby any airborne microbial particles and insects are being inactivated before being directed downwards towards the animals and / or humans in the room.
[0017] Preferably, a third LED light source providing visible light in a lighting direction substantially parallel to the first light direction. Hereby, the light-emitting device is available as a comprehensive lighting source for lighting up the building.
[0018] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the second LED light sources are provided annularly on the exterior side of the housing in the upper portion of the housing. In a particular embodiment, the LED light sources are furthermore provided equally spaced apart annularly. Furthermore, the first lighting direction is preferably substantially vertical and said second lighting direction is substantially horizontal. Hereby, a compact lamp design is provided where the two types of UV light sources are well separated and their lighting direction distinctly different.
[0019] In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the first UV-light source emits UVB light with a wavelength of 280-320 nm, more preferably 285 nm ± 4.5 nm, 297 nm ± 4.5 nm and / or 300 nm ± 2 nm.
[0020] In an embodiment of the invention, the first light source is provided with a light beam angle of approx. 70°. The visible light component of the first light source (if present) may have an even wider light beam angle, for instance 120°. Hereby, the visible light is being spread relatively wide illuminating the room. In some preferred embodiments, the second UV-light source emits UVC light with a wavelength of 230-280 nm, such as 233 nm ± 2 nm, 265 nm ± 2 nm or 280 nm. These UV wavelength ranges are found particularly effective in killing microbes such as bacteria, virus, and the like. Hereby, the UVB emission is directed downwards towards the room and the more harmful UVC light is directed sidewards and thereby does not reach the humans and / or animals in the room below the lamps. Instead, the more intense UVC light remains up underneath the ceiling and due to the air moving inside the building air is regularly ventilated from the top to the bottom of the building and as the ambient air is passing the upper region of the room, the air is subjected to the UVC light and thereby any airborne microbial particles are being inactivated before being directed towards the animals and humans inside the building. Such armatures can advantageously be mounted vertically with LED UVB with a wavelength of 300 nm ± 2 nm and with the UV-C light in a light beam angle of 30° with its median around horizontal, whereby the UVC light is not harmful for humans and other animals in the building. The UVB light especially in the specific wavelengths of the UV electromagnetic radiation emitted from the LEDs is practically monochromatic and the wavelength is selected to target any microbial presence on the surface of the animals in the building to reduce microbial pressure, such as terminating any bacteria and virus on the skin of the animals. It is also realised that by appropriately selecting the wavelengths of 300 nm ± 2nm on the peak and ± 5 nm at the bottom of the peak, the natural production of vitamin D3 is enhanced in the animals.
[0021] In order to be able to adjust the UVC light it is found advantageous that the second lighting direction is adjustable, preferably in an interval of 5° relative to the horizontal plan, so that the generally horizontally directed UVC light can be somewhat adjusted to follow the roof or ceiling of the building in which the lighting arrangement is installed. By providing a lighting cone which is relatively narrow and then furthermore also provide the option of adjusting the lighting direction of the UVC light sources, it can be ensured that the UVC light is kept in the top of the room, such as above 2.5 m in the room and that the UVC light then does not reach the animals and / or humans in the room. In a preferred embodiment there is provided a light intensity sensor, such as a UV light sensor and / or a visible light sensor. Furthermore, a wireless communication unit may be provided adapted to transmit light sensor readings to a control unit for controlling the light intensity of at least the substantially vertical first light source and optionally also the visible light source. This provides the lighting device with an automatic regulation of the vertical light intensity and the lighting intensity can be controlled and regulated to compensate for any UV light decay over time in each of the lamps.
[0022] In a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a lighting arrangement for reduction of the microbial pressure inside a building, such as an animal production building or a health care environment, for instance a hospital; said arrangement comprising a plurality of UV light-emitting devices according to any one of the previous claims are provided, and a control unit for controlling the light energy emitted by each of the devices based on sensor readings, such as received light intensity sensor readings from one or more of the devices.
[0023] At least a portion of the plurality of UV light-emitting devices are preferably provided with their second LED light sources in substantially the same horizontal plane making up the lighting fitting in a building, such as an animal production facility, e.g. a stable, or a healthcare centre, such as a hospital.
[0024] Alternatively, at least a portion of the plurality of UV light-emitting devices are provided with the second lighting directions of the second LED light sources of said devices mounted altering between being above and below substantially a horizontal plane. By altering the position this could be beneficial in some installations.
[0025] Above, in the building an air ventilator may advantageously be mounted in the ceiling section of the building next to the plurality of UV light-emitting devices. Hereby, a conditioning airflow is ensured and the ambient air is circulated through the upper volume of the building where the UVC intensive light is present for purifying the air and reducing the presence of microbial content. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] In the following, the invention is described in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0027] Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of a first embodiment of a UV light-emitting device according to the invention;
[0028] Fig. 2 is a top view of same;
[0029] Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the UV light-emitting device of fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a bottom view of said UV light-emitting device;
[0030] Fig. 5 is a detailed cross-sectional side view of the vertical bottom light opening of said device;
[0031] Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of said UV lighting device;
[0032] Fig. 7 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the second light sources of the UV lightemitting device; and
[0033] Fig. 8 is a schematic illustration of UV lighting arrangement with plurality of UV light-emitting devices in a building.
[0034] With reference to the figures an embodiment of a UV light-emitting light armature for reduction of the microbial pressure inside a building is shown. The armature comprises a housing 1 which as an exterior side IE and an interior side II and an upper portion 1U and a lower portion IL. On the inside there is provided a first LED UV-light source 2, which is a directional light source with a substantially vertical lighting direction LD1 (see fig. 3) downwards from the housing opening at the bottom of the lower portion IL of the housing 1. This first light source 2 is provided inside the housing 1 on a carrier plate 21 where an array of LEDs 22 is provided, such as in a ring formation as shown in fig. 4. This first light source 2 is an array of LEDs configured to emit UVB light with a wavelength of 280-320 nm, for instance 285 nm ± 4.5 nm, 297 nm ± 5 nm and 300 nm ± 5 nm, more preferably 300 nm ± 2 nm. A plurality of second LED UV-light sources 3 arranged on the exterior side IE of the housing 1, and which are directional light sources each having a second lighting direction LD2 (see fig. 7), wherein the second lighting directions LD2 define a plane which is substantially perpendicular to said first lighting direction LD1, i.e. preferably substantially horizontal. In the embodiment shown in the figures six second light sources 3 are arranged in an annular configuration equally angularly spaced around the exterior side IE on the upper portion 1U of the housing 1. The number of second light sources 3 may be vary depending on the specific configuration of the armature. The second UV-light sources 3 emit UVC light with a wavelength of 230-280 nm, preferably 233 nm ± 5 nm or 265 nm ± 5 nm. These UV wavelength ranges are found particularly effective in killing microbes such as bacteria, virus, and the like. It is realised by the invention that a wavelength of 233 nm ± 5 nm of the UVC light and a light beam angle LB2 of less than 30° can be used for armatures for medical use in hospitals and the like. Such armatures can advantageously be mounted vertically with LED UVC of 233 nm ± 5 nm and with the UV-C light in a narrow light beam angle of 20-30° with its median around horizontal, whereby the UVC light is not harmful for humans and other animals in the building. The plurality of second light sources 3 may all emit UVC light with the same wavelengths or different UVC wavelengths.
[0035] As illustrated in fig. 7, each of the second UV-light sources 3 are provided with a light beam angle LB2 of up to 30°. In order to be able to adjust the UVC light it is found advantageous that the second lighting direction LD2 is adjustable, such as in intervals of 5° relative to the horizontal plan. By providing a lighting cone LB2 which is relatively narrow and then furthermore also provide the option of adjusting the lighting direction of the UVC light sources, it can be ensured that the UVC light is kept in the top of the room, such as above 2.5 m in the room and that the UVC light then does not reach the animals and / or humans in the room.
[0036] A third LED light source 2' emitting visible light in substantially vertical lighting direction substantially parallel to the first light direction may also be provided on the carrier plate 21 inside the housing 1.
[0037] In an embodiment of the invention, the first light source is provided with a light beam angle LB1 of approx. 70°. The visible light component of the first light source (if present) may have an even wider light beam angle LB1, for instance 120°. Hereby, the visible light is being spread relatively wide illuminating the room. Moreover, the UVB emission is directed downwards towards the room and the more harmful UVC light is directed sidewards and thereby does not reach the humans and / or animals in the room below the lamps. Instead, the more intense UVC light remains up underneath the ceiling and due to the air moving inside the building air. The air inside the building is regularly ventilated predominantly from the top to the bottom of the building and as the ambient air is passing the upper region of the room, it is subjected to the UVC light and thereby any airborne microbial particles are being inactivated before being directed downwards towards the animals and / or humans in the room.
[0038] As shown in some of the figures, such as figs. 3 and 5, there is provided a light intensity sensor 5, such as a UV light sensor and / or a visible light sensor, inside the housing 1 at the bottom exit of the first and third light sources 2, 2'. On the top of the housing 1 there is provided an antenna 6, such as a blue tooth antenna, which enables wireless communication 61 adapted to transmit light sensor readings to a control unit 62 for controlling the light intensity of at least the substantially vertical first light source and optionally also the visible light source.
[0039] As previously mentioned, the second lighting direction LD2 is adjustable, such as in intervals of 5° relative to the horizontal plan. In one embodiment, this adjustment is provided by mounting the second light source 3 as shown in fig. 7. UVC emitting second light source 3 is provided as LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) mounted on a carrier plate 31, such as a printed circuit board, which may be circular. The carrier plate 31 is mounted in a circular opening in the housing 1, which is larger in diameter than the carrier plate 31. The carrier plate 31 is accommodated between two inclined mounting rings 33a and 33b. By rotating these rings 33a and 33b relative to each other the carrier plate 31 is positioned with a different inclination angle and thereby the lighting direction is LD2 adjusted. In front of the LED a protective lens 32 is provided.
[0040] In fig. 8 there is illustrated a lighting arrangement inside a building such as an animal production building or a health care environment, for instance a hospital with a plurality of UV light-emitting devices which are in wireless communication 61 with a control unit 62.
[0041] The sensor 5 measures the light intensity and communicates the sensor readings via the Bluetooth antenna to the control unit 62. The control unit 62 may then regulate the vertical light intensity emitted from the first and third light sources and thereby correct for light decay over time so that the chosen light intensities are kept constant.
[0042] In the present disclosure, the term UV light is often referred to. By the term UV light is generally meant ultraviolet light with a wavelength between 100-400 nm. Moreover, the UV light is subdivided into three regions by wavelength: UVA: 320- 400 nm in wavelength, UVB: 280-320 in wavelength, and UVC: 100-280 nm in wavelength.
[0043] Although the present invention has been described in connection with the specified embodiments, it should not be construed as being in any way limited to the presented examples. The scope of the present invention is set out by the accompanying claim set. In the context of the claims, the terms "comprising" or "comprises" do not exclude other possible elements or steps. Also, the mentioning of references such as "a" or "an" etc. should not be construed as excluding a plurality. The use of reference signs in the claims with respect to elements indicated in the figures shall also not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Furthermore, individual features mentioned in different claims, may possibly be advantageously combined, and the mentioning of these features in different claims does not exclude that a combination of features is not possible and advantageous.
[0044] Above, the invention is described with reference to some currently preferred embodiments. However, by the invention it is realised that other embodiments and variants may be provided without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.
Claims
CLAIMS1. A UV light-emitting device for reduction of the microbial pressure inside a building, said device comprising- a housing having an exterior side and an interior side and an upper portion and a lower portion;- a first LED UV-light source, which is a directional light source of UVB light having a first lighting direction through the lower portion of the housing;- a plurality of second LED UV-light sources arranged on the exterior side of the upper portion of the housing, and which are directional light sources of UVC light each having a second lighting direction, wherein and each of the second UV-light sources are provided with a light beam angle of up to 30°, and wherein the second lighting directions define a plane substantially perpendicular to said first lighting direction and substantially parallel to the building floor when installed.
2. A UV light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein a third LED light source providing visible light in a lighting direction substantially parallel to the first light direction.
3. A UV light-emitting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second LED light sources are provided annularly equally spaced apart on the exterior side of the upper portion of the housing.
4. A UV light-emitting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first lighting direction is substantially vertical and said second lighting direction is substantially horizontal.
5. A UV light-emitting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first UV-light source emits UVB light with a wavelength of 280-320 nm, preferably 300 nm ± 2 nm.
6. A UV light-emitting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first light source is provided with a light beam angle of approx. 70° at least for the UVB light.
7. A UV light-emitting device according to claim 6, wherein the first light source is provided with a visible light component of the third light source which may have a light beam angle of up to 120°.
8. A UV light-emitting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of second UV-light sources emit UVC light with a wavelength of 230-280 nm, preferably 280 nm ± 2 nm.
9. A UV light-emitting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein and each of the second UV-light sources are provided with a light beam angle of up to 30°.
10. A UV light-emitting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is provided a light intensity sensor, such as a UV light sensor and / or a visible light sensor.
11. A UV light-emitting device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is provided a wireless communication unit adapted to transmit light sensor readings to a control unit for controlling the light intensity of at least the substantially vertical first light source and optionally also the visible light source.
12. A lighting arrangement for reduction of the microbial pressure inside a building, such as an animal production building or a health care environment, for instance a hospital; said arrangement comprising a plurality of UV light-emitting devices according to any one of the previous claims are provided, and a control unit for controlling the light energy emitted by each of the devices based on sensor readings, such as received light intensity sensor readings from one or more of the devices.
13. A lighting arrangement according to claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of UV light-emitting devices are provided with the second lighting directions of the second LED light sources of said devices in substantially the samehorizontal plane, preferably substantially parallel with the ceiling of the building when installed.
14. A lighting arrangement according to claim 12, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of UV light-emitting devices are provided with the second lighting directions of the second LED light sources of said devices mounted altering between being above and below substantially a horizontal plane.
15. A lighting arrangement according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein there is mounted an air ventilator in the ceiling section of the building next to the plurality of UV light-emitting devices.