Appliance disinfection
AssigneeUV Partners, Inc.
InventorDavid W Baarman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An appliance disinfecting device with monitoring and safety interlock system that utilizes user detection and sensors to detect touch and can provide user feedback and decorative features. The device can include a UV transmissive material that provides disinfection of hard to reach surfaces or areas safely. The appliance disinfection device can include an automatic interlock to protect a user from UV exposure. The optics used for the UV disinfection allow the device to become a human interface. The device can be connected to the appliance control system which can be connected to a network and cloud interface.
Claims20
A UV low profile cross flow disinfection system comprising:
- a device having an interface device touch surface;
- a UV housing including a bezel overlapping a recessed edge of the interface touch surface and defining a cross flow aperture between the bezel and the edge of the interface touch surface;
- a UV source disposed within the UV housing, the UV source configured to emit UV-C energy;
- a UV reflector disposed in the UV housing at least partially surrounding the UV-C source configured to reflect UV-C energy from the UV source through the cross flow aperture between the bezel and the edge of the interface touch surface across the interface device touch surface.
A UV disinfection device comprising:
- a support member to facilitate mounting the UV disinfection device to a surface;
- a germicidal energy source operable to generate UV energy;
- a UV reflection chamber having a reflector and an exit interface, the reflector operable to receive UV energy generated by the germicidal energy source and to direct UV energy toward the exit interface;
- the exit interface having a proximal portion and a distal portion relative to a first edge of a target surface, the exit interface having an exit interface height defined between the proximal portion and the distal portion,
- wherein the exit interface height is significantly less than a target surface distance between the first edge of the target surface and a second edge of the target surface that is opposite the first edge of the target surface.
A method of operating a UV disinfection device, the method comprising:
- generating UV energy from a germicidal energy source;
- reflecting the UV energy, with a UV reflector, at one or more angles converging with an interface device surface, wherein the UV energy traverses through a cross flow aperture between a UV disinfection device bezel and an edge of the interface device surface of the UV disinfection device;
- and
- substantially shielding the UV energy, with the UV disinfection device bezel, to limit UV exposure during operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.