UV Downlight Batwing Distribution for Safe Disinfection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ultraviolet downlights for disinfection in occupied spaces face challenges in meeting safety regulations due to their design-dependent ultraviolet light irradiance, which restricts their installation and effectiveness in inactivating pathogens, as they often emit too little UV light to be effective while avoiding excessive irradiance that could violate safety standards.
Innovation Solution
A luminaire incorporating a beam-spreading total internal reflection (TIR) optic coupled with UV LEDs, which spreads ultraviolet light into a batwing distribution, ensuring peak intensity at angles greater than 55 degrees, and optionally includes peripheral white LEDs for room illumination, allowing for controlled UV emission that meets safety regulations and enhances pathogen inactivation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional ultraviolet downlights increase UV light emission to improve pathogen inactivation effectiveness, then disinfection performance is improved, but safety regulations are violated due to excessive irradiance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the angular distribution parameter of UV light emission by incorporating a beam-spreading optic with specific refractive index and geometric parameters. This transforms the light distribution from a concentrated beam to a spread distribution with peak intensity at angles greater than 55 degrees, enabling sufficient UV irradiance for disinfection while reducing direct exposure to harmful levels
Solution Approach 2:
The beam-spreading optic acts as an intermediary element between the UV LED and the environment. It conditions and redistributes the UV light through total internal reflection, serving as a mediator that transforms the raw UV emission into a safe, distributed pattern that meets both disinfection requirements and safety standards
2Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional ultraviolet downlights reduce UV light emission to meet safety regulations, then safety is improved, but pathogen inactivation effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the spatial distribution parameters of UV light by using a beam-spreading optic with specific refractive index (1.49-1.65) and geometric characteristics. This creates a batwing distribution pattern where light is concentrated at oblique angles (greater than 55 degrees), allowing reduced overall irradiance while maintaining effective disinfection through optimized angular distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a one-dimensional direct downward light emission to a two-dimensional angular distribution pattern. By using total internal reflection at the optic's interface, it creates a batwing distribution that spreads light across different angles, particularly concentrating it at angles greater than 55 degrees, thus utilizing angular dimension to achieve both safety and effectiveness
3Reliability
If ultraviolet downlight design is optimized for high UV emission to ensure disinfection, then pathogen inactivation is improved, but installation flexibility is restricted due to safety regulation compliance issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the system by introducing a beam-spreading optic with specific refractive index and geometric parameters. This transforms the light distribution characteristics, creating a batwing pattern with peak intensity at angles greater than 55 degrees, which enables the luminaire to meet safety regulations while maintaining disinfection effectiveness across various installation scenarios
Solution Approach 2:
The beam-spreading optic serves as a mediator that decouples the contradiction between high UV emission for disinfection and safety regulation compliance. It conditions the UV light from the LED, redistributing it angularly to achieve both effective pathogen inactivation and safe exposure levels, thereby enabling flexible installation in occupied spaces
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 enables the luminaire to emit sufficient ultraviolet light for effective pathogen inactivation while adhering to safety standards, allowing for broader installation flexibility and effective disinfection without exceeding safe exposure limits.
Implementation Method 1
a beam-spreading total internal reflection (TIR) optic optically coupled with the one or more UV LEDs and configured to spread the ultraviolet light output by the one or more UV LEDs
Implementation Method 2
Each optical condenser is configured to condense light of the design-basis wavelength received at an input aperture of the optical condenser into a condensed light beam
Data Source
AI summary
A luminaire includes one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) and a beam-spreading total internal reflection (TIR) optic optically coupled with the one or more LEDs and configured to spread light output by the one or more LEDs. The beam-spreading TIR optic includes a base and an apex and a tapered sidewall extending from a perimeter of the base to the apex, and the one or more LEDs are optically coupled into the base. There may be N LEDs where N is an integer greater than or equal to two, and the beam-spreading TIR optic may further include N optical condensers connected to the base, with each LED optically coupled into the base by a corresponding optical condenser. The luminaire may further include peripheral white LEDs disposed around the beam-spreading TIR optic, which are not optically coupled with the beam-spreading TIR optic. A surrounding annular reflector may further be provided.