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US 8,277,734 B2Granted
Biological activity monitoring and/or suppression
AssigneeSensor Electronic Technology, Inc.
InventorsAlexei Koudymov, Michael Shur, Remigijus Gaska
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Ultraviolet radiation is shone within an area and detected. The detected ultraviolet radiation is monitored over a period of time to determine a set of biological activity dynamics for the area. Ultraviolet radiation detected during a calibration period can be used to provide a baseline with which analysis of subsequently detected ultraviolet radiation is compared and analyzed. When the presence of biological activity is determined within the area, ultraviolet radiation and/or one or more other approaches can be utilized to suppress the biological activity.
Claims21
A system comprising:
- an ultraviolet radiation source configured to generate ultraviolet radiation shone within an area;
- an ultraviolet radiation detector configured to sense ultraviolet radiation within the area;
- and
- a computer system including at least one computing device, wherein the computer system is configured to:
- monitor the ultraviolet radiation sensed by the ultraviolet radiation detector over a period of time;
- determine a set of biological activity dynamics for the area based on the sensed ultraviolet radiation and the period of time, wherein the set of biological activity dynamics includes:
- a current growth phase of an organism within the area and an estimated amount of time the organism has been in the growth phase;
- and
- control the ultraviolet radiation generated by the ultraviolet radiation source by adjusting at least one of:
- a direction, an intensity, a pattern, or a spectral power of the ultraviolet radiation in response to the set of biological activity dynamics.
7 more elements
A system comprising:
- an ultraviolet radiation source configured to generate ultraviolet radiation shone within an area;
- an ultraviolet radiation detector configured to sense ultraviolet radiation within the area;
- and
- a computer system including at least one computing device, wherein the computer system is configured to:
- monitor the ultraviolet radiation sensed by the ultraviolet radiation detector over a period of time;
- determine a set of biological activity dynamics for the area based on the sensed ultraviolet radiation and the period of time, wherein the set of biological activity dynamics includes:
- a current growth phase of an organism within the area and an estimated amount of time the organism has been in the growth phase;
- and
- suppress biological activity in the area in response to the set of biological activity dynamics.
6 more elements
A storage device comprising:
- a storage area configured to store at least one item;
- an ultraviolet radiation source configured to generate ultraviolet radiation shone within the storage area;
- an ultraviolet radiation detector configured to sense ultraviolet radiation within the storage area;
- and
- a computer system including at least one computing device, wherein the computer system is configured to:
- monitor the ultraviolet radiation sensed by the ultraviolet radiation detector over a period of time;
- determine a set of biological activity dynamics for the storage area based on the monitored ultraviolet radiation and the period of time, wherein the set of biological activity dynamics includes:
- a current growth phase of an organism within the area and an estimated amount of time the organism has been in the growth phase;
- and
- control the ultraviolet radiation generated by the ultraviolet radiation source by adjusting at least one of:
- a direction, an intensity, a pattern, or a spectral power of the ultraviolet radiation in response to the set of biological activity dynamics.
8 more elements
A storage device comprising:
- a storage area configured to store at least one item;
- an ultraviolet radiation source configured to generate ultraviolet radiation shone within the storage area;
- an ultraviolet radiation detector configured to sense ultraviolet radiation within the storage area;
- and
- a computer system including at least one computing device, wherein the computer system is configured to:
- monitor the ultraviolet radiation sensed by the ultraviolet radiation detector over a period of time;
- determine a set of biological activity dynamics for the storage area based on the monitored ultraviolet radiation and the period of time, wherein the set of biological activity dynamics includes:
- a current growth phase of an organism within the area and an estimated amount of time the organism has been in the growth phase;
- and
- suppress biological activity in the storage area in response to the set of biological activity dynamics.
7 more elements
A refrigeration device comprising:
- a storage area configured to store at least one refrigerated item;
- an ultraviolet radiation source configured to generate ultraviolet radiation shone within the storage area;
- an ultraviolet radiation detector configured to sense ultraviolet radiation within the storage area;
- and
- a computer system including at least one computing device, wherein the computer system is configured to control at least one environmental condition of the storage area, wherein the at least one environmental condition includes at least one of:
- a temperature, a humidity, a gas convection, or a fluid convection, and wherein the computer system is configured to monitor the ultraviolet radiation sensed by the ultraviolet radiation detector over a period of time and to determine a set of biological activity dynamics for the storage area based on the monitored ultraviolet radiation and the period of time, wherein the set of biological activity dynamics includes:
- a current growth phase of an organism within the area and an estimated amount of time the organism has been in the growth phase.
4 more elements
A storage device comprising:
- a storage area configured to store at least one item;
- an ultraviolet radiation source configured to generate ultraviolet radiation shone within the storage area;
- an ultraviolet radiation detector configured to sense ultraviolet radiation within the storage area;
- and
- a computer system including at least one computing device, wherein the computer system is configured to:
- monitor the ultraviolet radiation sensed by the ultraviolet radiation detector over a period of time;
- determine a set of biological activity dynamics for the storage area based on the monitored ultraviolet radiation and the period of time, wherein the set of biological activity dynamics includes:
- a current growth phase of an organism within the area and an estimated amount of time the organism has been in the growth phase;
- and
- detect an access event within the storage area, wherein the computer system monitors the ultraviolet radiation in a calibration mode for a calibration period in response to the access event, and wherein the calibration mode re-calibrates a baseline used to determine the set of biological activity dynamics for the area.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.