CN215350844U

CN215350844U - Disinfection system

Info

Publication number: CN215350844U
Application number: CN202120502157.XU
Authority: CN
Inventors: 韩保罗; 周苑诗; 陈嘉文; 邱健威
Original assignee: Process Automation International Ltd
Current assignee: Process Automation International Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-18
Filing date: 2021-03-09
Publication date: 2021-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 2031-03-09
Also published as: CN215426251U

Abstract

A disinfecting system (100) is disclosed comprising a channel member (102) having at least two open ends (112), at least one inner surface (110A) and narrow grooves (122), each narrow groove being located at or adjacent a respective open end of the channel member, said grooves being adapted to direct at least two air jets exiting the narrow grooves to move in opposite directions to create a negative pressure zone (120) within the channel member, the negative pressure zone having an air pressure below ambient air pressure.

Description

Disinfection system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a disinfection system, in particular a system suitable for, but not limited to, disinfecting a person.

Background

Most current sterilization systems for various objects are quite complex. Furthermore, they may not satisfactorily disinfect an object in a relatively short time or may not thoroughly disinfect the object.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sterilisation system in which the above disadvantages are alleviated or at least to provide a useful alternative to the commercial and public.

According to the present invention, there is provided a sterilisation system comprising a channel member having at least two open ends, at least one inner surface and at least two air outlets, wherein each of said air outlets is located at or adjacent a respective said open end of said channel member, wherein said at least two air outlets are adapted to direct at least two air jets exiting said at least two air outlets in substantially opposite directions to create at least one low pressure region within said channel member, and wherein said low pressure region has an air pressure lower than the ambient air pressure.

According to another aspect of the present invention, it is also envisaged to provide a method of disinfection comprising providing a channel member having at least two open ends, at least one inner surface and at least two air outlets, wherein each of the at least two air outlets is located at or adjacent a respective said open end of the channel member, and directing at least two air jets exiting the at least two air outlets to move in substantially opposite directions to create at least one low pressure region within the channel member, the low pressure region having an air pressure below ambient air pressure.

Advantageously, the at least two air jets exiting the at least two air outlets may be directed to move away from each other.

Suitably, the at least two air jets exiting the at least two air outlets may be directed away from the channel member.

Conveniently, the low pressure region may be located at or adjacent a central region of the channel member.

Each of the at least two air outlets may advantageously comprise at least one narrow slot through which one of the air jets exits.

The method may suitably comprise providing at least two pairs of air outlets, each pair of air outlets being locatable at or adjacent a respective said open end of the channel member and at least two pairs of air jets exiting the air outlets being directable to move in substantially opposite directions.

The method may conveniently comprise drawing air from around a central region of the channel member.

Advantageously, the air drawn from the central region of the channel member may be filtered.

Suitably, the air jets may be driven to exit through at least one of the air outlets.

Conveniently, the at least one inner surface may be coated with a photocatalyst.

The method may advantageously further comprise activating the photocatalyst by ultraviolet radiation to generate oxidative radicals.

Drawings

A sterilisation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a sterilization system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the sterilization system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the sterilization system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is another schematic perspective view of the sterilization system of FIG. 1 with a portion of the outer wall removed; and

FIG. 5 is another top view of the sterilization system of FIG. 1, showing the associated airflow around and within the sterilization system.

Detailed Description

A sterilization system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig. 1-3 and is generally designated 100. The sterilization system 100 includes a channel member 102 having a top 106, a bottom 108, two opposing sidewalls 110, and two open ends 112. The top portion 106, bottom portion 108, and side walls 110 collectively define a sterilization space 104 for containing objects to be sterilized, including living objects (e.g., people, pets) or inanimate objects (e.g., handbags or suitcases). Thus, objects to be disinfected may enter the channel member 102 through one of the open ends 112, be disinfected as they pass through the disinfection space 104, and exit the channel member 102 through the other open end 112.

The inner surface 110a of the sidewall 110 of the channel member 102 is coated or sprayed with a photocatalyst, such as nano-sized titanium dioxide (TiO2) in the anatase form. When Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is irradiated within the channel element 102 by UV light (not shown in the figure) in order to activate the photocatalyst, in particular nano-sized titanium dioxide (TiO2), hydroxyl groups (OH), which are strong oxidizing radicals, are generated. Such oxidative radicals can attack harmful organisms such as microorganisms, bacteria, viruses and various Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), including by destroying cells of the microorganisms, bacteria and viruses, with harmless water and carbon dioxide as byproducts. Such a photocatalyst may be a photocatalyst marketed under the trademark "Aegis" by Aegis Intelligent Chemicals pte. However, in view of the potentially harmful effects of UV radiation on humans, operation of UV light within the tunnel member 102 is only performed when the disinfection space 104 of the tunnel member 102 is empty.

On each inner surface 110a of the two opposite side walls 110, a plurality of vertically aligned air nozzles 114 are provided for providing an air flow into the sterilization space 104 of the channel member 102 at a high speed, for example exceeding 18m/s, with which air flow enters the sterilization space 104, particles and dust on the object to be sterilized (e.g., a person) will be blown off the object and caught in the air leaving the sterilization space 104.

To enhance the disinfecting effect, a disinfecting and/or sterilizing agent, such as a disinfecting and/or sterilizing fluid, is supplied into the disinfecting space 104 of the tunnel member 102 through at least one air nozzle 114 (e.g., nozzle 114a shown in fig. 2, which is a top nozzle in one of the vertical columns of nozzles 114). In particular, the sterilizing fluid is sprayed by the nozzles 114a to be uniformly deposited on the outer surface of the object to be sterilized in the sterilizing space 104. Alternatively, the disinfecting and/or sterilizing agent may be sprayed into the disinfecting space 104 through a dedicated nozzle (e.g., a fine 90 ° fan nozzle) different from the air nozzle 114. The disinfecting and/or Sanitizing formulation may be a formulation marketed under the trademark "Bedaan (BioEm)" by Bedaan Air disinfecting and cleaning Technology Limited.

To further enhance the sterilization effect of sterilization system 100, a negative pressure zone 120 is created within sterilization space 104 of channel member 102, which has a pressure below ambient pressure. In particular, the negative pressure region 120 may be a pressure up to 3Pa lower than ambient pressure.

In order to create a negative pressure zone 120 in the sterilization space 104, two narrow slots 122 are provided at or near each open end 112 of the channel member 102, through which air jets (as indicated by arrows "a" in fig. 4) are ejected at high speed (e.g. 15-25 m/s). This high velocity air jet a is directed by the slot 122 to move away from the channel member 102. While each pair of air jets a exiting the slot 122 at or near each open end 112 of the channel member 102 are directed to move in substantially the same direction, air jets a exiting the slot 122 at or near different open ends 112 are directed by the slot 122 to move in substantially opposite directions, particularly away from each other.

The air jets a exiting from the slots 122 come from two fans 124 that draw air from around the central region of the tunnel member 102 (i.e., around the negative pressure region 120) and also from the external environment. Air drawn by the fan 124 from within the tunnel member 102 and from the external environment passes through a suitable filter in an air duct (not shown) before being driven by the fan 124 to exit the slots 122 at high velocity.

The air jet a moving away from the channel member 102 at high velocity tends to entrain air in the channel member 102 therewith, thus creating a low pressure region around the central region of the channel member 102, the low pressure region having an air pressure lower than ambient air pressure. The negative pressure zone 120 thus created meets the requirements for handling potentially infected persons/objects passing through the tunnel member 102. All air around the object to be disinfected is drawn out and properly filtered so no pathogens leave the tunnel member 102. The outside air between the pair of air jets a at or around the open end 112 slowly moves into the channel member 102 and is drawn in by the fan 124.

It is to be understood that the above only shows an example in which the present invention may be carried out, and that various modifications and/or changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the utility model. It is also to be understood that certain features of the utility model, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the utility model which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Claims

1. A disinfecting system, characterized in that the system comprises:

a channel member having at least two open ends, at least one inner surface and at least two air outlets,

wherein each of the at least two air outlets is located at or adjacent the respective open end of the channel member,

wherein the air outlets are adapted to direct at least two air jets exiting the at least two air outlets to move in substantially opposite directions to create at least one low pressure region within the channel member, an

Wherein the low pressure region has a pressure below ambient pressure.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two air outlets are adapted to direct the at least two air jets exiting the at least two air outlets away from each other.

3. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least two air outlets are adapted to direct the at least two air jets exiting the at least two air outlets to move away from the channel member.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the low pressure region is located at or adjacent a central region of the channel member.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the at least two air outlets comprises at least one narrow slot through which one of the air jets exits.

6. A system according to claim 1, characterized in that the system comprises at least two pairs of air outlets,

wherein each pair of said air outlets is located at or adjacent a respective said open end of said channel member, and

wherein the two pairs of air outlets are adapted to direct at least two pairs of air jets exiting the air outlets to move in substantially opposite directions.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one fan member adapted to draw air from around a central region of the channel member.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising at least one filter for filtering air drawn in by the fan member.

9. A system according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the fan member is adapted to drive a jet of air out through at least one of the air outlets.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one interior surface is coated with a photocatalyst.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the photocatalyst is adapted to be activated by ultraviolet radiation to generate oxidative radicals.