Elevator Floor Button Rotation With UV-Sterilized Contact Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Elevating equipment floor selection operation panels are prone to bacterial infection and transmission due to direct hand contact with buttons, leading to unsanitary conditions.
Innovation Solution
The floor selection operation panel features a button system with a rotation shaft and printed circuit board, including a germicidal lamp, which automatically exposes a sterilized surface each time the button is operated, partitioning the button surface into a use and standby surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a push or touch switch type operation panel is installed on the wall of the platform or cage, then the operation panel can be easily operated by visitors, but bacteria are infected or transmitted because hands directly contact the button surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The button body is divided into two separate bodies (first body and second body) that can be selectively exposed. This segmentation allows the used surface to be separated from the standby surface, enabling automatic sterilization of one surface while the other remains in use, thus preventing bacterial transmission while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The germicidal lamp is activated to sterilize the button surface in advance before it is needed for use. By pre-sterilizing the standby surface (second body) before it becomes the active surface, the system ensures that users always contact a freshly sterilized surface, preventing bacterial infection while maintaining operational convenience.
2Ease of manufacture
If a flat panel type operation unit with buttons is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the buttons cannot be sterilized between uses leading to disease spread
Solution Approach 1:
The button system transitions from a static single surface to a dynamic dual-surface system that can switch between first body and second body. This dynamic switching capability allows the system to maintain sanitary safety by rotating between a used surface and a sterilized surface, while the overall structure remains relatively simple and manufacturable.
Solution Approach 2:
The germicidal lamp acts as an intermediary that sterilizes the button surface between uses. This intermediary component enables the system to achieve sanitary safety by introducing a sterilization function that mediates between the used surface and the standby surface, preventing disease spread while maintaining ease of manufacture.
3Device complexity
If the same button surface is continuously used, then the operation is simple, but the spread of disease due to bacterial infection occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The button system implements periodic action by alternating between the first body and second body surfaces. Each surface is used for a period, then replaced by the other surface which has been sterilized in the meantime. This periodic switching prevents continuous use of the same surface, thereby preventing bacterial transmission while maintaining relatively simple device complexity.
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
This design effectively prevents the spread of disease by ensuring the button surface is sterilized every time it is used, enhancing user safety in elevating equipment.
Implementation Method 1
a printed circuit board disposed at a rear side of the button body, the printed circuit board including a switch and a germicidal lamp irradiating light toward the button body
Data Source
AI summary
A floor selection operation panel for elevating equipment may include a panel including an opening, an electric compartment room disposed at a rear side of the panel, and a floor selection button disposed inside the electric compartment. The floor selection button may include a button body including a first body and a second body selectively exposed to the outside through the opening, a rotation shaft for rotating the button body, a printed circuit board disposed at a rear side of the button body, the printed circuit board including a switch and a germicidal lamp irradiating light toward the button body, and an elastic member disposed between the rotation shaft and the first body and between the rotation shaft and the second body.