PPE Sanitizing Assembly with Rotating Carousel for Uniform UV Exposure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sanitizing devices for personal protective equipment (PPE) do not effectively sterilize face masks and other PPE using ultraviolet light, as they lack a dedicated mechanism for rotating and evenly exposing these items to UV light across a wide operational wavelength range.
Innovation Solution
A sanitizing device featuring a translucent cabinet with a hinged upper and lower door, a rollable cart, and a rotatable carousel unit with UV light emitters emitting light between 10.0 nm and 400.0 nm to sterilize face masks and other PPE, ensuring comprehensive exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a static cabinet with UV light emitters is used for sterilizing PPE, then the device structure is simple, but the sterilization effectiveness is insufficient due to lack of rotation and uneven light exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a rotatable carousel unit that rotates to bring different PPE items into position for UV sterilization. This dynamic element ensures all surfaces of masks and other PPE receive uniform UV exposure from multiple angles, significantly improving sterilization effectiveness compared to static arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The carousel unit adds rotational movement as a new dimension to the sterilization process. Instead of fixed UV lights照射ing PPE from one direction, the rotating mechanism enables three-dimensional exposure where PPE items are brought into contact with UV sources from multiple spatial positions, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all surfaces.
2Manufacturing precision
If UV light emitters are positioned fixedly in the cabinet, then the device complexity is low, but the uniformity of light exposure on PPE surfaces is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The carousel unit rotates to dynamically reposition PPE items relative to the fixed UV light emitters. This rotation ensures that all surfaces of each PPE item, including inner and outer layers of masks, receive uniform UV exposure over time, eliminating shadowed areas that would occur with fixed positioning.
3Quantity of substance
If multiple PPE items are stored simultaneously in the cabinet, then the storage capacity is high, but the accessibility and individual handling of each item becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the storage space into individual slots within the carousel unit, with each slot designed to hold a single PPE item such as a mask. This segmentation allows multiple items to be stored simultaneously while maintaining easy access, as the carousel can be rotated to bring any specific item to the front for removal or placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable carousel mechanism enables dynamic access to stored PPE items. Users can rotate the carousel to bring any specific item to the accessible position at the front, making it easy to handle individual items even when many are stored simultaneously, thus maintaining high storage capacity while ensuring operational ease.
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 device provides a sterile environment for face masks and other PPE, preventing infectious transmission and allowing for extended storage without contamination, ensuring effective sterilization across a broad UV spectrum.
Implementation Method 1
A plurality of light emitters is each coupled to the cart to emit light onto the carousel unit. Each of the light emitters has an operational wavelength ranging between approximately 10.0 nm and 400.0 nm for sterilizing the face masks.
Data Source
AI summary
A personal protective equipment sanitizing assembly includes a cabinet that is comprised of a translucent material to pass light therethrough. An upper door is hingedly coupled to the cabinet and a lower door is hingedly coupled to the cabinet. A cart is rollably positioned in the cabinet and the cart is rollable onto the lower door when the lower door is opened for accessing the cart. A carousel unit is rotatably coupled to the cart and the carousel unit includes a plurality of suspensions to support a respective one of a plurality of face masks or other personal protective equipment. A plurality of light emitters is each coupled to the cart to emit light onto the carousel unit. Each of the light emitters has an operational wavelength ranging between approximately 10.0 nm and 400.0 nm for sterilizing the face masks.