UV Decontamination System with Occupancy Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current room decontamination methods, such as surface cleaning and fumigation, are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often ineffective in maintaining a healthy level of decontamination, especially in high-risk environments like hospitals, due to human error and the difficulty in ensuring regular decontamination of all surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A UV decontamination system with condition sensing hardware and a controller that detects safe conditions for decontamination, allowing for autonomous operation in single-occupant rooms, ensuring UV radiation exposure only when the room is unoccupied and logging decontamination operations for accountability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual surface decontamination is performed, then surfaces can be cleaned, but it is time-consuming and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical cleaning with UV radiation-based decontamination. The UV system automatically decontaminates surfaces and air without requiring human labor for physical cleaning, thereby reducing time loss while maintaining decontamination effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The decontamination system operates autonomously using sensors to detect occupancy and automatically activate UV lamps when the room is unoccupied. This self-service capability eliminates the need for manual intervention and scheduling, reducing time consumption while ensuring consistent decontamination.
2Reliability
If frequent decontamination is performed, then hygiene level is maintained, but it requires continuous manual labor
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically monitors room occupancy through sensors and initiates decontamination cycles when safe to do so. This autonomous operation maintains hygiene levels without requiring continuous manual labor or complex scheduling by staff.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses occupancy sensors to provide real-time feedback on room status, automatically adjusting decontamination operations based on whether the room is occupied or unoccupied. This feedback mechanism simplifies operation while ensuring frequent decontamination when possible.
3Reliability
If UV decontamination is applied, then decontamination effectiveness is improved, but safety risks increase if occupants are present
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors room occupancy through sensors and uses this feedback to control UV lamp operation. UV decontamination is automatically activated only when sensors confirm the room is unoccupied, and immediately deactivated when occupancy is detected, thereby maintaining effectiveness while eliminating exposure risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The UV decontamination system dynamically adjusts its operation based on real-time occupancy conditions. The system transitions between active decontamination mode and safe standby mode according to occupancy status, optimizing effectiveness while ensuring safety through conditional operation.
4Reliability
If manual cleaning is performed, then decontamination can be applied, but human error reduces effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual cleaning operations with an automated UV decontamination system controlled by sensors and a control unit. This substitution eliminates human error in decontamination execution while the integrated sensor-controller-lamp system provides consistent, reliable operation without excessive complexity.
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 system effectively reduces the risk of nosocomial infections by ensuring regular and quantifiable decontamination of UV-exposed areas, improving hygiene standards and reducing the need for manual labor, while maintaining room accessibility.
Implementation Method 1
UV radiation is a particularly useful tool in the fight against hospital acquired infections superbugs such as Clostridium Difficile (C. Diff), Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (VRE), etc.
Implementation Method 2
UV decontamination systems may sterilizes the media or surface by exposing it to ultraviolet radiation of a sufficient power and for a sufficient exposure time to destroy by dimerization of thymine pairs the DNA molecular structure of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and other organisms
Data Source
AI summary
A room decontamination systems, controllers and methods for decontaminating a room. The room decontamination system may be a UV room decontamination system that uses UV radiation to perform a decontamination operation in the room. A controller may determine whether safe conditions for decontamination exist and initiate a decontamination operation on the basis of whether they exist. Determination of safe conditions for decontamination may be based on light actuation detection and/or sensor data, which may include presence detector data and door sensor data. Determination of safe conditions for decontamination may include a determination of whether sensors are functioning properly. The controller may also determine whether decontamination operations are required on the basis of the historical condition data, for example on the basis of whether the room has been occupied since the last decontamination operation.