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US 12,144,902 B2Granted
Self-cleaning device
AssigneeAccenture Global Solutions Limited
InventorsLavinia Andreea Danielescu, Aditi Maheshwari, Mark Benjamin Greenspan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This document describes self-cleaning devices. In one aspect, a self-cleaning device includes a fabric having a surface covered with a photocatalyst, one or more light sources embedded in the fabric, and a triggering mechanism that activates a cleaning cycle by activating the one or more light sources. The triggering mechanism can include a pressure sensor. The triggering mechanism can be configured to activate the cleaning cycle in response to detecting a decrease in pressure being applied to the pressure sensor.
Claims24
A device, comprising:
- a portion that is constructed for repeated use by different living beings;
- a fabric that covers the portion and that is coated with a photocatalyst, the fabric having a surface that is exposed to contaminants or germs through the repeated use by the different living beings;
- one or more fiber optic light sources that are embedded in the fabric in a pattern that, when activated, allows diffused light to illuminate all of the fabric surface that is exposed to the contaminants or the germs through the repeated use by the different living beings;
- and
- a triggering mechanism that selectively activates the one or more fiber optic light sources that are embedded in the fabric in the pattern, thereby initiating a self-cleaning cycle of the fabric surface that is exposed to the contaminants or the germs through the repeated use by the different living beings, wherein the triggering mechanism comprises a controller and a light sensor which is included in threads of the one or more fiber optic light sources, and wherein the controller is configured to:
- determine detection of at least a threshold intensity of light by the light sensor;
- determine that the portion is unoccupied based on the detection of the threshold intensity of light;
- and
- initiate the self-cleaning cycle of the fabric surface based on the determination that the portion is unoccupied.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.