UV Lamp Module Airflow Layout for Uniform Irradiation
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Solution Overview
Problem
UV lamp modules face a conflict between maintaining hygiene standards, compactness, and homogeneity of radiation distribution, particularly in food industry applications where local intensity variations can lead to inadequate disinfection, and existing designs struggle to achieve high efficiency and uniform irradiation with limited installation space and powerful UV lamps.
Innovation Solution
The UV lamp module incorporates a housing design with distinct airflow zones for cooling, using low-pressure mercury lamps and a reflector to maintain a homogeneous temperature and irradiation profile, ensuring efficient UV emission and resistance to cleaning cycles, while maintaining a compact and hygienic form factor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple UV lamps are assembled in a planar arrangement to increase irradiation period, then decontamination effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The UV lamp module divides the irradiation function into multiple separate low-pressure mercury lamps arranged in a planar configuration. Each lamp acts as an independent segment that contributes to the overall decontamination effectiveness, allowing the system to achieve higher reliability through distributed irradiation sources rather than relying on a single complex lamp assembly.
2Volume of moving object
If powerful UV lamps are used to reduce installation space, then compactness is improved, but radiation homogeneity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single powerful UV lamp that creates hot spots and uneven radiation distribution, the invention employs multiple lower-power lamps positioned at different locations within the compact housing. Each lamp provides localized irradiation, and the collective arrangement ensures homogeneous radiation distribution across the treated surface, maintaining both compactness and radiation uniformity.
3Productivity
If high-power UV lamps are used to achieve homogeneous irradiation, then decontamination efficiency is improved, but temperature control becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal management challenge is addressed by segmenting the heat generation across multiple lower-power lamps rather than concentrating it in a single high-power lamp. This distribution reduces the thermal load on each individual lamp and simplifies cooling requirements. Additionally, the housing incorporates integrated cooling channels that efficiently dissipate heat from each lamp position, maintaining operational temperature control while preserving decontamination efficiency.
4Volume of moving object
If the housing is made compact to reduce installation space, then ease of installation is improved, but airflow for cooling is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The invention resolves the conflict between compact housing and adequate cooling airflow by transitioning from a two-dimensional planar cooling approach to a three-dimensional airflow system. Cooling channels are integrated into the housing structure in multiple dimensions, with air intake and exhaust openings positioned at different heights and locations. This vertical and horizontal airflow arrangement enables efficient heat dissipation within the compact volume without compromising cooling performance.
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
This design enables high-power low-pressure mercury lamps to operate safely, achieving a homogeneous UV irradiation intensity of at least 100 mW/cm2 with reduced overheating risk, maintaining hygiene standards and efficient decontamination, and allowing for compact, residue-free cleaning and multiple module arrangement without compromising radiation homogeneity.
Implementation Method 1
UV lamps that are suitable for decontamination are, for example, mercury vapor discharge lamps, which can be configured as low-pressure lamps
Implementation Method 2
a first airflow zone for the supply of cooling air and a second airflow zone, which is in particular fluidically separated from the first airflow zone, for the discharge of heated cooling air
Data Source
AI summary
A UV lamp module for the ultraviolet irradiation of a substrate includes a lamp arrangement, a waterproof housing, and first and second airflow zones. The lamp arrangement includes multiple low-pressure mercury lamps each having a longitudinal axis. The waterproof housing surrounds the lamp arrangement and has a bottom side, a top side and at least two side walls connecting the bottom side and the top side to each other, and a beam exit opening on the bottom side which is closed by a beam exit window. The first airflow zone is formed in the housing and has an air supply duct with at least one air-guide for the supply of cooling air to the lamp arrangement. The second airflow zone is separated from the first airflow zone, and is formed in the housing and has an exhaust air duct for the discharge of heated cooling air. When viewed in a cross-section through the housing perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the low-pressure mercury lamps and in a viewing direction from the bottom side to the top side, the beam exit window, the lamp arrangement and the airflow zones are arranged one after the other.