Multi-Wavelength Decontamination System Using UV and Visible Light
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for decontaminating harmful spores, bacteria, and viruses require high power and long exposure to UV light, which are not effective for all types of organisms and often rely on single wavelengths, limiting their efficacy.
Innovation Solution
A system using lamps capable of emitting light at various frequencies and wavelengths, adjusted by an electronic controller, combines UV light with visible light at specific intensities to accelerate damage to organisms, including wavelengths below 200 nm to produce ozone, enhancing decontamination efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high power UV light is used for decontamination, then the killing effect on microorganisms is improved, but the exposure time and power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines UV light (254 nm) with visible light at specific wavelengths (405 nm, 422 nm, 502 nm) to create a multi-wavelength illumination system. This merging of different light types produces synergistic effects that accelerate organism destruction, reducing exposure time from minutes to seconds while maintaining high reliability of microbial killing
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the intensity ratios of different wavelengths using an EBBU controller. By changing the parameter of light intensity distribution across multiple wavelengths rather than relying on single high-power UV, the system achieves faster decontamination with reduced total power requirements and shorter exposure times
2Reliability
If high power UV light is used for decontamination, then the killing effect on microorganisms is improved, but the power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges UV light with visible light at multiple wavelengths to achieve synergistic decontamination effects. This combination allows the system to use lower total power compared to high-power UV alone, while maintaining or improving the killing effect on microorganisms
Solution Approach 2:
The system optimizes power distribution across multiple wavelengths by controlling intensity ratios through the EBBU. This parameter adjustment enables efficient power utilization, reducing total power requirements while achieving reliable microbial destruction
3Device complexity
If single wavelength UV light is used, then the system is simple, but it is not effective against all types of organisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a multi-wavelength illumination system that can target different types of organisms (bacteria, viruses, spores) effectively. By incorporating UV light plus visible light at multiple wavelengths (405 nm, 422 nm, 502 nm, 579 nm), the system achieves universal effectiveness against diverse pathogens while the EBBU controller provides programmable adaptability to optimize for specific organism types
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the intensity of each wavelength based on the target organism. The EBBU controller enables real-time modification of spectral composition, making the system adaptable to different decontamination needs while maintaining operational simplicity through centralized control
4Reliability
If long exposure to UV light is used, then decontamination is achieved, but productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines UV and visible light wavelengths to produce synergistic effects that dramatically accelerate decontamination. This merging reduces processing time from minutes to seconds, significantly improving productivity while maintaining thorough decontamination effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-wavelength system enables the decontamination process to rush through quickly by creating accelerated damage to organisms. The combined wavelengths work together to rapidly open organism shells and damage DNA, allowing the process to complete in seconds rather than minutes, thereby boosting productivity
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 approach significantly accelerates decontamination by simultaneously using UV and visible light at specific wavelengths, effectively killing a broader range of organisms with reduced exposure time and power, improving upon traditional methods by leveraging the germicidal properties of combined light intensities.
Implementation Method 1
Ultraviolet light, and in particular UV-C light having a wavelength of approximately 254 nm, is known to damage the DNA of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens by forming covalent bonds between adjacent thymine bases in their DNA
Implementation Method 2
The irradiance of the light at the one or more selected wavelengths in the visible region will be sufficient to accelerate damage to one or more organisms in or on the specimen, typically, by opening a skin, outer membrane or other shell of the one or more organisms
Implementation Method 3
exposing the specimen to light at one or more wavelengths below 200 nm at an intensity sufficient to produce ozone
Data Source
AI summary
Contamination is reduced by exposing a specimen to light, such that the light includes ultraviolet and light of wavelength in the visible region, so that the light in the visible region damages the shell of an organism and the ultraviolet light prevents reproduction of the organism.