Luminescent Layer UV Intensity Indicator
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a cost-effective method to determine if the ultraviolet (UV) light output from luminaires meets specific intensity criteria, as existing light meters are complex and expensive, and UV light is not visible, making it difficult to ensure effective UV cleansing without visible indicators.
Innovation Solution
A device with a luminescent layer that converts UV light to visible light, allowing for easy comparison to a brightness reference, and a method using a light meter to measure the intensity of the converted visible light to represent the UV light intensity, enabling users to determine if the UV emission is within safe or harmful ranges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If UV light meters are used to measure UV light intensity, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a luminescent material as an intermediary substance that converts UV light into visible light. This mediator allows standard visible light meters to indirectly measure UV intensity without requiring complex UV-specific measurement equipment. The luminescent material absorbs UV photons and emits visible light proportional to the UV intensity, enabling measurement through familiar instruments.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the need for complex electronic UV detection systems with a simple optical conversion process. Instead of using sophisticated sensors and electronics to detect UV radiation directly, the system uses photoluminescence conversion followed by standard visible light detection, significantly simplifying the measurement apparatus.
2Reliability
If UV light intensity is increased for effective cleansing, then sanitation effectiveness is improved, but harmful effects on occupants increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs color-changing luminescent materials that emit different colors or intensities of visible light in response to different UV intensity levels. By selecting luminescent materials with specific emission characteristics, the system provides visual feedback about UV intensity levels, allowing users to distinguish between effective cleansing intensities and harmful levels through color or brightness variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time visual feedback through the luminescent material's visible light emission, which correlates with UV intensity. This feedback mechanism allows occupants to monitor UV levels and adjust exposure accordingly, enabling effective sanitation while avoiding harmful overexposure. The visible luminescence serves as an immediate indicator of UV intensity without requiring separate measurement devices.
3Reliability
If UV light is emitted for sanitation, then cleansing function is improved, but visibility of UV light remains poor
Solution Approach 1:
The luminescent material serves as an optical intermediary that converts invisible UV radiation into visible light. When UV light strikes the luminescent material, it absorbs the UV photons and re-emits energy as visible photons, making the UV intensity indirectly visible to human eyes. This mediator bridges the gap between the invisible UV sanitation light and human visual perception.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the wavelength parameter of the light from the UV range (invisible) to the visible range through photoluminescence conversion. The luminescent material absorbs UV photons at specific wavelengths and emits photons at longer, visible wavelengths, transforming the physical parameter of light wavelength to make it detectable by human vision while maintaining correlation with the original UV intensity.
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 solution provides a simple and inexpensive way to assess UV light intensity, ensuring effective UV cleansing by converting UV light to visible light for easy measurement and comparison, thus ensuring the UV output meets the required criteria for sanitation applications.
Implementation Method 1
a luminescent layer that converts UV light to visible light
Data Source
AI summary
A ultraviolet (UV) intensity indicator might use a UV responsive lumiphore to provide a converted, visible light level proportional to received UV light intensity for comparison to a visible brightness reference. For a desired UV intensity, the converted light should normally appear at least as bright as the reference light. For undesired UV, e.g. in a harmful wavelength range, the converted light should appear dimmer than the reference for normal operation and/or appear as bright as or brighter than the reference during excessive emission of the potentially hazardous UV emission. Alternatively, saturable lumiphores may provide different color outputs responsive to UV intensities for comparison to a multi-colored reference. Other examples contemplate use of a lumiphore to convert UV light to provide a visible light input to a visible light meter, such that an illuminance or brightness measurement by the meter gives a proportional representation of intensity of the UV light.