Foldable Vehicle Seats for UV Cleaning Access and Safe Sanitization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle cleaning systems, particularly for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) vehicles, face challenges in thoroughly cleaning hard-to-reach areas and ensuring passenger safety due to limitations in UV light reach and potential health hazards from UV exposure, requiring frequent service visits and inadequate cleaning between rides.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous vehicle cleaning system that employs light sources, 2D or 3D sensors, window dimming, autonomous driving, and UV sterilization to detect and address foreign material, adjusting interior lighting conditions and vehicle positioning to optimize cleaning, and can either clean surfaces or direct the vehicle to a service location for cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If UV lights are used to clean surfaces, then bacteria and viruses are killed and organic molecules are broken down, but UV lights do not reach hard-to-reach spaces and cannot clean deep stains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs movable seats that can be dynamically repositioned between occupied and cleaning positions. This dynamic adjustment allows the UV lights and sensors to access previously obscured hard-to-reach areas, resolving the contradiction by making the cleaning system adaptable to different spatial configurations rather than being limited by fixed seat positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to the cleaning process by performing cleaning operations at different times (when seats are in cleaning positions versus when they are occupied). This allows the system to access multiple spatial dimensions and angles that are not simultaneously available, enabling comprehensive cleaning of hard-to-reach areas while maintaining normal vehicle operation.
2Reliability
If UV cleaning lights are activated to sanitize the vehicle interior, then pathogens are eliminated, but humans and animals may be exposed to hazardous UV radiation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting foreign material and positioning seats in cleaning positions before activating UV lights. Sensors detect the presence of occupants, and the system only initiates UV cleaning when the vehicle is confirmed empty, preventing exposure while maintaining sanitization effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs sensor systems that provide continuous feedback about vehicle occupancy and environmental conditions. This feedback mechanism allows the control system to make real-time decisions about when to activate UV lights, ensuring they only operate when safe, thus resolving the contradiction between effective sanitization and passenger safety.
3Reliability
If the vehicle is sent to a cleaning service facility for complete cleaning, then all areas can be thoroughly cleaned, but frequent service visits are required and time is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service cleaning capabilities within the vehicle using automated UV lights, sensors, and movable seats. The system autonomously detects foreign material, adjusts seat positions to access all areas, activates appropriate cleaning methods, and verifies cleaning completeness without human intervention or external service visits, thereby eliminating time loss while maintaining cleaning reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary cleaning actions between passenger rides by automatically detecting and addressing foreign material in real-time. This preliminary action prevents accumulation of dirt and contaminants, maintaining continuous cleanliness without requiring periodic intensive service visits, thus resolving the contradiction between cleaning completeness and time efficiency.
4Ease of operation
If seats remain in occupied positions during cleaning, then passenger comfort is maintained, but UV lights cannot reach areas obscured by seats
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamically reconfigurable seat positions that transition between occupied and cleaning configurations. During passenger use, seats remain in comfortable occupied positions. During cleaning intervals, seats automatically move to cleaning positions that expose previously obscured surfaces to UV lights and sensors, resolving the contradiction by making the system adaptable to different operational modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements periodic action by alternating between passenger service mode and cleaning mode. During passenger service, seats remain in occupied positions for comfort. During scheduled cleaning intervals, seats periodically transition to cleaning positions to enable comprehensive surface access, then return to occupied positions, thus maintaining both passenger comfort and cleaning coverage over time.
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 effectively detects and cleans foreign material in hard-to-reach areas, enhances passenger safety by minimizing UV exposure, and reduces the need for frequent service visits by maintaining vehicles in a clean and hygienic state between passenger pickups.
Implementation Method 1
Ultraviolet (UV) light emission is a known technology used to clean the inside surfaces of a vehicle by killing bacteria/viruses, breaking down organic molecules, and bleaching
Implementation Method 2
a sensor configured to, under control of the processor, capture an image of the second portion of the surface while the second portion of the surface is illuminated by the light source
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes an interior and an exterior, a surface within the interior, and a movable seat positioned over a first portion of the surface. The vehicle also includes a processor, a seat control system able to move the seat to expose the portion of the surface, and a light source able to illuminate a larger second portion of the surface which includes the first portion. The vehicle further includes a sensor to capture an image of the second portion of the surface, illuminated by the light source, and a cleaning element able to clean the second portion of the surface. The processor is configured to detect foreign material on the second portion of the surface, based on a comparison between the image and a stored image. The processor is also configured to activate the cleaning element, after detecting the foreign material on the second portion of the surface.