Vacuum Cleaner Park-Mode Violet Light Decontamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Floor care devices, particularly those used in dirty environments, accumulate microbial contamination, posing a health risk to users due to inadequate decontamination methods, especially since traditional decontamination during use is inefficient and energy-intensive.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a floor care device that transitions to a 'park mode' to execute a decontamination program using violet visible light (380-450 nm) to illuminate susceptible parts, ensuring effective microbial reduction without damaging materials and allowing indirect irradiation, which can be integrated into existing devices or docking stations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional decontamination methods are used during active use, then decontamination can be performed continuously, but the process is energy-intensive and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs decontamination in advance during park mode before the device is needed again, eliminating the need for continuous energy-intensive decontamination during active use. The violet light sources are activated only when the device transitions to park mode, pre-cleaning surfaces before next use.
Solution Approach 2:
Decontamination is performed periodically whenever the device transitions to park mode rather than continuously during operation. This periodic activation of violet light sources significantly reduces overall energy consumption while maintaining effective decontamination through multiple cycles throughout the device's operational period.
2Reliability
If UV light is used for decontamination, then microbial killing effectiveness is high, but the material of plastic surfaces is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the wavelength parameter of the light from traditional UV (100-400 nm) to violet visible light (380-450 nm), specifically targeting wavelengths around 405 nm. This parameter adjustment maintains effective microbial decontamination while eliminating the harmful material degradation effects associated with higher energy UV radiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the limitation of visible light (lower energy compared to UV) into a benefit by selecting violet light at 380-450 nm, which retains sufficient antimicrobial effectiveness while naturally avoiding the material damage caused by higher energy UV wavelengths. The visible spectrum constraint becomes an advantage for material compatibility.
3Illumination intensity
If direct line of sight is required for light irradiation, then illumination intensity on surfaces is high, but contaminated areas in shadowed regions are not decontaminated
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from direct line-of-sight illumination to volumetric light scattering by introducing translucent diffusing elements. These elements scatter the violet light in multiple dimensions, allowing illumination to reach shadowed and hidden contaminated areas that would otherwise be inaccessible to direct light paths.
Solution Approach 2:
Translucent diffusing elements are introduced as intermediaries between the violet light sources and the contaminated surfaces. These intermediaries scatter and redirect the light, enabling indirect irradiation that reaches shadowed regions while maintaining sufficient illumination intensity for effective decontamination.
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 use of violet visible light effectively decontaminates high-risk areas of floor care devices, ensuring user safety by reducing microbial contamination without energy-intensive processes during active use, and can be implemented in various floor care devices or docking stations.
Implementation Method 1
emitting light in a violet portion of the visual spectrum and thereby illuminating the at least one part for the decontamination thereof. The violet portion of the visual spectrum is typically defined as spanning the range of about 380 to 450 nm. Light of these wavelengths is known to be very effective in killing any microbes that may have accumulated on the illuminated surfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, and a floor care device are provided for allowing decontaminating parts of a floor care device. The floor care device includes at least one part that is susceptible to contamination when the floor care device is used in a floor care mode. The method may include detecting a transition of the floor care device to a park mode, and in response thereto, executing a decontamination program, the decontamination program including emitting light in a violet portion of the visual spectrum and thereby illuminating the at least one part for the decontamination thereof.