Vehicle Cabin UV Decontamination With Passenger-Safe Beam Steering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for decontaminating vehicle cabins are inefficient and do not provide adequate protection against the transmission of contagions, such as COVID-19, as they are time-consuming and may not fully eliminate pathogens, especially in shared transportation settings where passengers are present.
Innovation Solution
An in-vehicle decontamination system utilizing a processor, IR sensor, UV emitter with a beam steering module, and optional image sensor to track and target contaminated areas within the cabin for precise UV illumination, ensuring safety by avoiding exposure to passengers and using real-time tracking and decontamination mapping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual wiping with antibacterial solution is used, then decontamination can be performed, but it is extremely time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical wiping with an automated UV-C light system that emits germicidal radiation to decontaminate surfaces. The system uses sensors to detect contamination and directs UV-C beams to targeted areas, eliminating the need for physical contact and manual labor while maintaining decontamination effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service decontamination by automatically detecting contaminated areas through sensors and applying UV-C treatment without human intervention. The apparatus autonomously navigates the vehicle cabin, identifies contaminated surfaces, and performs decontamination, reducing dependency on manual cleaning operations.
2Reliability
If UV light is used for decontamination, then pathogens can be eliminated, but passengers cannot be present in the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies UV-C light locally to specific contaminated areas rather than illuminating the entire vehicle cabin. Sensors detect contamination at specific locations, and the UV-C source directs beams only to those targeted areas, maintaining pathogen elimination effectiveness while minimizing UV exposure to passengers in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The UV-C light source is made dynamic through beam steering mechanisms that can rapidly redirect UV beams to different locations based on real-time contamination detection. This dynamic capability allows the system to treat contaminated areas quickly and move on before passengers could be exposed to harmful UV radiation.
3Reliability
If comprehensive cleaning of every inch of vehicle cabin is performed, then decontamination thoroughness is improved, but time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs partial decontamination by targeting only the areas that are actually contaminated rather than treating every surface uniformly. Sensors identify specific contaminated locations, and UV-C beams are applied selectively to those areas, achieving sufficient decontamination thoroughness while dramatically improving cleaning efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensor feedback to guide the decontamination process. Contamination sensors continuously monitor surfaces and provide real-time information about contaminated areas, which feeds back to the control system to direct UV-C beams precisely where needed, optimizing both thoroughness and efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables efficient and targeted decontamination of vehicle cabins while passengers are present, reducing the risk of contagion transmission by using directed UV light to eliminate pathogens without exposing humans to harmful UV radiation, thus providing a more secure and efficient sanitization process.
Implementation Method 1
a UV emitter (16) having a beam steering module to direct the UV light beams to target areas within the cabin for illumination
Implementation Method 2
an infrared (IR) sensor (14) to detect areas with which a passenger (120) may have interacted or touched
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for safe decontamination of a vehicle cabin while passengers can be present are disclosed that uses and/or has at least one data storage, at least one processor, at least one infrared (“IR”) sensor, and at least one ultraviolet (“UV”) emitter having a beam steering module. At least one contaminated area in the vehicle cabin is tracked using IR sensor data from the IR sensor. It is determined if there's a direct line of sight between the UV emitter and the at least one contaminated area. If so, UV emitter is activated to target the at least one contaminated area and blocking UV illumination on non-contaminated areas of the vehicle cabin and areas temporarily covered by a passenger.