UV Air Recirculation Chamber With Multi-Pass Irradiation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing personal protective equipment (PPE) and air recirculators are ineffective against airborne pathogens due to inaccuracies in calculating UV irradiation effectiveness in small flow-through chambers, leading to high costs, energy consumption, and impractical designs.
Innovation Solution
A multi-pass optical system with UV LEDs is used in a flow-through chamber to enhance UV irradiation efficacy by multiple reflections, reducing the required power of the radiation source and improving bactericidal efficacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional UV irradiation devices are used in small flow-through chambers, then the chamber volume is small, but the UV irradiation effectiveness is insufficient due to inadequate UV dose delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the UV light source with highly reflective surfaces (mirrors) within the same chamber to create a system where UV light is reflected multiple times, increasing the effective UV dose delivered to the air passing through the chamber without increasing chamber volume
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses multiple reflections of UV light within the chamber, where light bounces back and forth between reflective surfaces, effectively delivering UV irradiation in repeated passes through the air stream, thereby increasing the cumulative UV dose
2Reliability
If high-power UV sources are used to achieve sufficient irradiation in small chambers, then UV irradiation effectiveness is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs reflective surfaces to continuously redirect UV light through the air stream multiple times, ensuring that the UV energy is utilized repeatedly rather than being wasted, thereby achieving effective irradiation with lower power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts what would normally be wasted UV light (escaping the chamber after one pass) into beneficial repeated irradiation by using reflective surfaces to bounce the light back through the air stream, extracting additional useful action from the same energy input
3Reliability
If high-power UV sources are used to ensure sufficient irradiation, then UV irradiation effectiveness is improved, but the device cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses optical reflections to create multiple 'copies' of the UV light path, where a single light source effectively illuminates the air stream through multiple virtual images created by the mirrors, reducing the need for multiple high-power sources
4Ease of operation
If conventional masks are used for respiratory protection, then they are accessible to the population, but they are ineffective against airborne pathogens due to moisture diffusion and poor UV irradiation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies UV irradiation to the air stream before it enters the breathing zone, pre-disinfecting the air of airborne pathogens, thereby providing protection without requiring the user to wear cumbersome conventional PPE
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 multi-pass optical system significantly enhances UV irradiation intensity, reducing the power and energy consumption of UV sources by an order of magnitude, making PPE and air disinfection devices more practical and affordable.
Implementation Method 1
at least one LED of the ultraviolet radiation spectrum is located in the internal volume of the chamber
Implementation Method 2
Device for inactivating pathogenic microorganisms in the air flow... ultraviolet irradiation of recirculated air
Implementation Method 3
the entire internal surface of at least one specified wall is coated or made of a material reflecting ultraviolet radiation to form a multi-pass optical system
Data Source
AI summary
The invention can be used to produce personal protection systems of respiratory organs (RPE) and organs of vision from airborne and aerosol pathogens. Additionally, it can be used to create mobile low-power closed-type recirculation systems of UV cleaning and air disinfection in small rooms and volumes: salons and cabins of various vehicles, offices, classrooms, medical rooms, etc. According to the claimed characteristics, the invention provides a high level of bactericidal treatment of air flows, including human breathing, by irradiating the flow with UV radiation from UVC-LED source with the formation of multiple times amplified luminous flux in the multi-pass irradiation chamber. The technical result is expressed in a multiple increase in the bactericidal efficacy of the device compared to devices without such a chamber, as well as in the same reduction in the requirements for the radiation power of the primary radiators according to the required bactericidal efficacy of the device.