Transparent Disinfecting Lighting Device with Reflective Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current disinfecting lighting devices, particularly those using UV light, face challenges in safety and efficiency due to the need for evacuation of spaces and potential exposure risks, with existing solutions being either inefficient or aesthetically unappealing and obstructive.
Innovation Solution
A disinfecting lighting device with a housing that includes a transparent portion with a reflective coating to contain disinfecting light within an air disinfection cavity, allowing for safe and efficient disinfection while being aesthetically appealing and non-obstructive, featuring a design with air inlet and outlet ducts for air purification and the use of UV or visible light sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If UV light sources are used for disinfection, then disinfection efficiency is improved, but safety deteriorates due to risk of unintentional irradiation
Solution Approach 1:
A reflective coating is introduced as an intermediary between the UV light source and the external environment. This coating reflects UV light back into the air disinfection cavity while allowing visible light to pass through, thus maintaining disinfection efficiency while preventing harmful irradiation exposure
Solution Approach 2:
The wall element is designed with differentiated properties: a transparent portion with reflective coating that is selective for different wavelengths. The coating reflects UV light (harmful) while transmitting visible light (beneficial), creating local quality variation that simultaneously addresses safety and efficiency requirements
2Shape
If transparent portions are used in the housing, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but disinfection efficiency deteriorates due to light transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent portion of the wall element is equipped with a reflective coating that selectively reflects UV light while transmitting visible light. This creates local quality differentiation where the same material serves dual purposes: maintaining aesthetic transparency for visible light while preventing UV light transmission through the reflective property
Solution Approach 2:
The reflective coating introduces wavelength-selective optical properties to the transparent portion. The coating appears transparent to visible light (maintaining aesthetics) but reflects UV light (maintaining efficiency), effectively using optical property changes to resolve the contradiction
3Object-affected harmful factors
If UV light is converted to visible light, then safety is improved, but disinfection efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of converting UV light to visible light (which would lose disinfection capability), a reflective coating is used as an intermediary to redirect UV light back into the cavity. This maintains the harmful UV light's disinfection function while preventing its harmful exposure, avoiding the efficiency loss associated with wavelength conversion
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 solution provides a safe, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing disinfecting lighting device that can operate in spaces with human presence, minimizing irradiation losses and preventing the spread of microbial species without obstructing views or sound, while maintaining a high disinfection efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one transparent portion comprises a reflective coating for reflecting the disinfecting light
Implementation Method 2
a transparent portion being substantially transparent to light from at least a portion of visible wavelength range
Implementation Method 3
at least one disinfecting light source arranged inside the air disinfection cavity and providing disinfecting light
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a disinfecting lighting device (1) comprising a housing (2) comprising an air disinfection cavity (3) delimited by a wall element (4). The wall element (4) comprises at least one transparent portion (5, 5′) being substantially transparent to light from at least a portion of visible wavelength range. The disinfecting lighting device (1) further comprises at least one disinfecting light source (6) arranged inside 5the air disinfection cavity (3) and providing disinfecting light. The disinfecting lighting device (1) comprises at least one air inlet duct (7) and at least one air outlet duct (8) arranged in the wall element (4). The at least one transparent portion (5, 5′) comprises a reflective coating (9) for reflecting the disinfecting light.