CN217040845U - Disinfection apparatus and disinfection system - Google Patents

Abstract

At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a personal disinfection device and a disinfection system including the same. The sterilization apparatus includes: an apparatus body including an inlet, an outlet, a top, and a bottom, and including a sterilization zone; a shower system including a spray nozzle disposed at a top of the device body and configured to spray shower liquid to the disinfection region; a sensing system configured to sense the presence of a person in or near the sterile field; and a controller communicatively connected with the sensing system and configured to receive a sensing signal from the sensing system and determine whether the person meets disinfection requirements based on the sensing signal.

Description

Disinfection apparatus and disinfection system

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a disinfection apparatus, a disinfection system comprising the same.

Background

Along with the improvement of the production and living standard of people, the problem of biological safety of a pig farm is more and more prominent. Personnel entering and leaving the pig farm should strictly enforce sterilization regulations to prevent import and diffusion internally. However, current disinfection devices are poorly operable, lack regulatory means, and have difficulty in effectively performing disinfection codes.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a personal disinfection device that includes a device body, a shower system, a sensing system, and a controller. The apparatus body includes an inlet, an outlet, a top, and a bottom, and includes a sterilization zone. The shower system includes a spray nozzle disposed at a top of the device body and configured to spray a shower liquid toward a disinfection area. The sensing system is configured to sense the presence of a person in or near the sterile field. The controller is communicatively connected with the sensing system and configured to receive the sensing signal from the sensing system and determine whether the person meets the sterilization requirements based on the sensing signal.

For example, in some embodiments, the sensing system includes a first sensor configured to sense the presence of a person in the disinfection area.

For example, in some embodiments, the first sensor comprises a weight sensor disposed at a bottom of the apparatus body corresponding to the sterilization zone and including an elastic member and a displacement switch connected to the elastic member.

For example, in some embodiments, the controller is communicatively connected with the first sensor and configured to: receiving a first sensing signal from a first sensor indicative of the presence of a person in a sterile area; and determining whether the person meets the disinfection requirement based on the first sensing signal. The controller determines that the person meets the disinfection requirement when the first sensing signal indicates that the person is present in the disinfection area for a first dwell period.

In some embodiments, for example, the sensing system further comprises a water flow sensor disposed in a shower conduit connected to the spray head and configured to sense a flow rate of shower liquid sprayed by the spray head,

for example, in some embodiments, the controller is communicatively connected with the first sensor and the water flow sensor and configured to: receiving a first sensing signal from a first sensor indicative of a presence of a person in a sterile area; receiving a second sensing signal from the water flow sensor indicative of a flow rate at which the spray nozzle sprays the shower liquid; and determining whether the person meets the disinfection requirement based on the first sensing signal and the second sensing signal. When the first sensing signal indicates that the person exists in the disinfection area for a first stay time period, and the second sensing signal indicates that the flow rate of the shower liquid sprayed by the spray nozzle in the first stay time period is greater than a preset flow rate, the controller judges that the person meets the disinfection requirement.

For example, in some embodiments, the sensing system includes a second sensor configured to sense at least one of whether a person passes through the entrance and whether a person passes through the exit.

For example, in some embodiments, a controller is communicatively coupled with the first sensor and the second sensor and configured to: receiving a first sensing signal from a first sensor indicative of a presence of a person in a sterile area; receiving at least one of a third sensing signal from the second sensor indicating whether a person passes through the entrance and a fourth sensing signal indicating whether a person passes through the exit; and determining, based on at least one of the third and fourth sensing signals and based on the first sensing signal, whether the person has passed the disinfection apparatus without meeting the disinfection requirements. The controller determines that the person has passed through the disinfection apparatus without meeting the disinfection requirements when the third and fourth sensed signals indicate that the person has passed through at least one of the inlet and the outlet, and the first sensed signal indicates that the person has not been present in the disinfection area.

For example, in some embodiments, the second sensor comprises at least two pairs of reflective photosensors, one pair of reflective photosensors disposed at the entrance of the device body and configured to sense whether a person passes through the entrance, the other pair of reflective photosensors disposed at the exit of the device body and configured to sense whether a person passes through the exit.

For example, in some embodiments, the controller is configured to generate the reminder instruction, and the disinfection device further comprises a user interface communicatively coupled with the controller and configured to communicate the reminder instruction generated by the controller to a person in proximity to the disinfection device.

For example, in some embodiments, the shower system further includes a showerhead disposed at the top and configured to spray a showerhead toward the disinfection region, the showerhead communicatively connected with the controller.

For example, in some embodiments, the controller is configured to generate the reminder instruction, and the disinfection device further includes a user interface communicatively coupled with the controller and configured to communicate the reminder instruction generated by the controller to personnel within the disinfection area. The controller is configured to perform a disinfection operation when the sensed signal indicates that a person is beginning to be present in the disinfection area, the disinfection operation comprising: generating a first prompt instruction for prompting personnel to start spraying the bath liquid, and then controlling the spraying nozzle to spray the shower liquid for a first spraying time period; when the sensing signal indicates that the person is present in the disinfection area for a second dwell time period, generating a second prompting instruction prompting the person to start spraying the shower agent, and then controlling the shower agent spray head to spray the shower agent; when the sensing signal indicates that a person is present in the disinfection area for a third dwell period, generating a third prompting instruction prompting the person to begin spraying bath liquid, and then controlling the spray nozzles to spray shower liquid for a second spray period; and generating a fourth prompting instruction that prompts the person that the disinfection requirement has been met and that the person may exit the disinfection device when the sensed signal indicates that the person is present in the disinfection area for the first dwell period. The first dwell period is greater than the third dwell period, which is greater than the second dwell period.

For example, in some embodiments, the controller is configured to generate the reminder instruction, and the disinfection device further includes a user interface communicatively coupled with the controller and configured to communicate the reminder instruction generated by the controller to personnel within the disinfection area. The controller is configured to: when it is determined based on the sensing signal that the person does not satisfy the sterilization requirements to exit the sterilization zone from the outlet, an instruction is generated to prompt the person to require re-sterilization, and the sterilization operation is re-performed when the sensing signal indicates that the person is again present in the sterilization zone.

For example, in some embodiments, the device body includes a body frame defining an inlet, an outlet, a top, and a bottom. The disinfection apparatus further comprises a retractable step that is changeable between a retracted state and a deployed state. In the stowed state, the stowable step is inside the main body frame, and in the deployed state, the stowable step extends out of the main body frame to expand the area of the base.

For example, in some embodiments, the device body comprises an access control device comprising an access member for closing and opening the outlet. The controller is communicatively connected with the gate inhibition device and is configured to: when the judgment personnel meet the disinfection requirement, the entrance guard component is allowed to open the outlet; and when the judgment personnel do not meet the disinfection requirement, forbidding the access control component to open the outlet.

There is provided in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure a sanitizing system, including: a disinfection apparatus as described above; a front dressing room provided at a side where the entrance of the sterilizing apparatus is located; and a rear dressing room provided at the other side of the outlet of the sterilizing apparatus.

According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a sterilization method using a sterilization apparatus including: an apparatus body including an inlet, an outlet, a top, and a bottom, and including a sterilization zone; the shower system comprises a spray nozzle which is arranged at the top of the equipment main body; and a sensing system. The method comprises the following steps: sensing the presence of a person in or near the sterile area with a sensing system; spraying shower liquid to the disinfection area by using a spray nozzle; receiving a sensing signal from a sensing system; and determining whether the person meets the disinfection requirements based on the sensing signal.

For example, in some embodiments, the sensing system includes a first sensor. Sensing, with the sensing system, the presence of the person in or near the sterile area includes sensing, with the first sensor, whether the person is present in the sterile area. Receiving the sensing signal from the sensing system includes receiving a first sensing signal from a first sensor indicative of the presence of a person in the sterile area. Determining whether the person meets the disinfection requirement based on the sensing signals includes determining that the person meets the disinfection requirement when the first sensing signal indicates that the person is present in the disinfection area for a first dwell period.

For example, in some embodiments, the sensing system further comprises a second sensor. Sensing, with the sensing system, the presence of the person in or near the sterile area further includes sensing, with the second sensor, at least one of whether the person passes through the entrance and whether the person passes through the exit. Receiving the sensed signal from the sensing system further includes receiving at least one of a third sensed signal from the second sensor indicating whether the person passed through the entrance and a fourth sensed signal indicating whether the person passed through the exit, determining whether the person satisfied the sterilization requirements based on the sensed signals includes determining that the person passed through the sterilization apparatus without satisfying the sterilization requirements when the third sensed signal and the fourth sensed signal indicate that the person passed through at least one of the entrance and the exit and the third sensed signal indicates that the person was not present in the sterilization area.

For example, in some embodiments, the disinfection device further comprises a user interface. The method includes generating a prompt instruction and communicating the generated prompt instruction to a person within the disinfection area using a user interface.

Drawings

To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings that are required to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, it should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present disclosure and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope, and for those skilled in the art, other related drawings may be obtained from the drawings without inventive effort.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view from below of a disinfection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,

figure 2 shows a perspective view of a disinfection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure from above,

figure 3 shows a front view of a disinfection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,

figure 4 shows a side view of a disinfection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a disinfection apparatus, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and

fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a sterilizing apparatus, a sterilizing system including the sterilizing apparatus, and a sterilizing method using the sterilizing apparatus according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure more clear, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all embodiments of the present disclosure.

Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, presented in connection with the drawings, is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, as claimed, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the disclosure. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments disclosed herein without inventive step, are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

The singular forms include the plural unless the context otherwise dictates otherwise. Throughout the specification, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "includes," "including," "having," "including," and the like are used herein to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof.

In addition, even though ordinal terms such as "first", "second", etc., are used to describe various elements, the elements are not limited by the terms, and the terms are used only to distinguish one element from other elements.

Pig farms are often provided with showers for persons entering and exiting the pig farm to shower for disinfection of the persons. However, such a disinfection approach is difficult to avoid personnel entering or leaving a pig farm without meeting disinfection requirements, lacks regulatory means, and is difficult to effectively implement disinfection regulations.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a personnel sanitizer to enhance the supervision of personnel to effectively enforce sanitization codes. The sterilization apparatus includes: an apparatus body including an inlet, an outlet, a top, and a bottom, and including a sterilization zone; a shower system including a spray head disposed at a top of the device body and configured to spray a shower liquid to the sterilization area; and a sensing system configured to sense the presence of a person in or near the sterile area; and a controller communicatively connected with the sensing system and configured to receive the sensing signal from the sensing system and determine whether the person meets the disinfection requirement based on the sensing signal.

The sterilizing apparatus may be provided between the front and rear dressing rooms to constitute a sterilizing system with the front and rear dressing rooms. After taking off the clothes in the front dressing room, the person enters a disinfection device for shower disinfection, and then enters a pig farm after putting on clean clothes in the rear dressing room. By utilizing the sensing system and the controller to determine whether a person meets the sterilization requirements, the person utilizing the sterilization apparatus can be effectively supervised to effectively execute the sterilization specification. It should be noted that the sterilization apparatus of the present disclosure is not limited to be applied to a pig farm, and may be applied to any place where sterilization of personnel is required, such as other types of animal farms, animal laboratories, biological laboratories, operating rooms, and the like.

Fig. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, viewed from below, fig. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, viewed from above, fig. 3 illustrates a front view of a sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, fig. 4 illustrates a side view of a sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 1-5, the disinfecting device includes a device body 140, a shower system 120, a sensing system 130, a user interface 150, and a controller 110 communicatively connected to the device body 140, the shower system 120, the sensing system 130, and the user interface 150. The apparatus body 140 includes a body frame 143 defining an inlet, an outlet, a top, and a bottom, and the body frame 143 further includes a sterilization zone in an interior thereof. The shower system 120 includes a spray nozzle 121, the spray nozzle 121 being disposed at the top of the device body 140 and configured to spray a shower liquid such as water toward the sterilization area. The sensing system 130 is configured to sense the presence of a person in or near the sterile field and transmit a sensing signal to the controller 110. The controller 110 is communicatively connected with the sensing system 130 and is configured to receive the sensing signal from the sensing system 130 and determine whether the person meets the sterilization requirements based on the sensing signal.

If the person does not meet the disinfection requirements, the disinfection device may prevent the person from passing through the exit and may prompt the person to continue or resume disinfection; if the person passes through the disinfection device without the controller 110 determining that the person meets the disinfection requirements, the disinfection device may record the identity of the person and record it in an internal storage medium and/or upload it to a remote management server, as will be described in detail later.

Herein, "communicatively connected" may refer to being connected to transmit signals by wireless communication means such as mobile cellular data, WIFI, or by wired communication means such as wires.

For example, a disinfection zone is defined as an area to which substantially the whole body of a person can be sprayed with shower liquid when the person is in the area. For example, the shower head 121 may be connected to a solar water heater, an electric water heater, or a gas water heater, etc. through a shower pipe.

The controller 110 includes, for example, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor ("DSP"), an application specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), a field programmable gate array ("FPGA"), or the like.

It is noted that the inlet and outlet of the disinfection apparatus may be used interchangeably. The inlet is defined as the passage of a person into the disinfection apparatus for disinfection on one side and the outlet is positioned as the passage of a person out of the disinfection apparatus on one side. That is, when shower disinfecting a person entering a site, the channel on the side away from the site is an entrance and the channel on the side close to the site is an exit. When disinfecting persons leaving the site, the passage on the side close to the site is the entrance and the passage on the side far from the site is the exit.

The sensing system 130 may include a first sensor 131, a water flow sensor 133, and a second sensor 132.

The first sensor 131 is configured to sense the presence of a person in the disinfection area. The controller 110 is connected with the first sensor 131 to receive a first sensing signal from the first sensor 131 indicating the presence of a person in the disinfection area and to determine whether the person meets the disinfection requirements based on the first sensing signal. Specifically, the controller 110 determines that the person meets the sterilization requirement when the first sensing signal indicates that the person is present in the sterilization area for the first stay period. During this first dwell period, personnel may be showered by the spray system 120 for disinfection. Only if the person stays in the disinfection area for the first stay period can the disinfection requirement be considered to be fulfilled, and thus the disinfection of the person is effectively supervised.

In the present embodiment, the first sensor 131 is a weight sensor, rather than an image sensor such as a camera or a photosensor that is susceptible to interference by spray liquid, which poses privacy concerns, and therefore, the presence of personnel in the disinfection area, and in particular, the continued presence of personnel, can be reliably sensed. The weight sensor is disposed at the bottom of the apparatus body 140 corresponding to the sterilization area, i.e., the bottom of the apparatus body 140 below the sterilization area, and includes an elastic member 1311 and a shift switch 1312 connected to the elastic member 1311. When a person is present in the disinfection area, he stands above the weight sensor and causes the elastic member 1311 to displace the displacement switch 1312. The displacement of the displacement switch 1312 exceeds a predetermined threshold to generate a first sensing signal indicating the presence of a person in the sterile field.

But the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In another embodiment, the first sensor 131 may be a pressure sensitive sensor. In another embodiment, the first sensor 131 may be a photosensor whose sensing area is in a sterile area. In another embodiment, the first sensor 131 may be at least two photosensors whose sensing regions are at the entrance and the exit, respectively. When the at least two photoelectric sensors sense that the person passes through the inlet but does not pass through the outlet, it can be judged that the person is present in the sterilization area. The above-described photosensor may be a reflective photosensor including a receiver and a transmitter provided together or a photosensor including a receiver and a transmitter provided opposite to each other.

The shower system 120 further includes a shower agent container 123 and a shower agent spray head 122, the shower agent spray head 122 being disposed at the top and configured to suck the shower agent from the shower agent container 123 and then spray the shower agent to the sterilization area. The bath agent can be conventional bath lotion or special bath lotion. Therefore, the disinfection apparatus can automatically assist a person in performing a complete shower operation for disinfection using the shower system 120 including the spray nozzle 121 and the shower agent nozzle 122, ensuring disinfection effect of the person. For example, the controller 110 may be configured to initiate performance of a disinfection operation when the sensed signal indicates the presence of a person in the disinfection area, including: firstly, the spray nozzle 121 is controlled to spray shower liquid for a first retention time period, then the shower agent nozzle 122 is controlled to spray shower agent, after the waiting time period, the spray nozzle 121 is controlled to spray shower liquid for a second spray time period, and personnel can perform full scrubbing in the waiting time period. The time taken for the sterilization operation is equal to or less than the first dwell period.

Sensing system 130 may also include a water flow sensor 133 (not shown in fig. 1-4) to sense the flow rate at which shower head 121 sprays shower liquid when the shower liquid supply to the disinfection device is unstable. The water flow sensor 133 may be provided in a shower pipe connected to the shower head 121. In this case, the controller 110 is also communicatively connected with the water flow sensor 133 to receive a second sensing signal from the water flow sensor 133 indicating the flow rate at which the shower head 121 sprays the shower liquid, and to determine whether the person meets the sterilization requirement based on the above-described first and second sensing signals. Specifically, the controller 110 judges that the person satisfies the sterilization requirement when the first sensing signal indicates that the person exists in the sterilization area for the first staying period, and the second sensing signal indicates that the flow rate at which the shower head 121 sprays the shower liquid is greater than the predetermined flow rate substantially in the first staying period. For example, when the flow rate at which the shower head 121 sprays the shower liquid is greater than the predetermined flow rate in the first spraying period and 90% or more, 80% or more, or 70% or more, etc. of the second spraying period in the first dwell period, it may be considered that the flow rate at which the shower head 121 sprays the shower liquid is greater than the predetermined flow rate substantially in the first dwell period. By providing the water flow sensor 133, the sterilizing apparatus ensures a high sterilizing effect.

Furthermore, to prevent a person from passing over the disinfection device without stepping into the bottom of the disinfection device, the sensing system 130 comprises a second sensor 132 configured to sense at least one of whether a person passes through the inlet and whether a person passes through the outlet. In this case, the controller 110 is also communicatively connected with the second sensor 132 to receive at least one of a third sensing signal indicating whether a person passes through the inlet and a fourth sensing signal indicating whether a person passes through the outlet from the second sensor 132, and to determine whether a person has passed through the disinfection apparatus without satisfying the disinfection requirements based on the first sensing signal and based on at least one of the third sensing signal and the fourth sensing signal. Specifically, when the third sensing signal and the fourth sensing signal indicate that the person passes through at least one of the entrance and the exit, and the first sensing signal indicates that the person is not present in the sterilization area, the controller 110 determines that the person has passed through the sterilization apparatus without satisfying the sterilization requirement. Therefore, the second sensor 132 prevents personnel from crossing the illegal operation of the disinfection device without meeting the disinfection requirements, ensuring effective supervision.

For example, in the present embodiment, when the third and fourth sensing signals indicate that the person passes through both the entrance and the exit, and the first sensing signal indicates that the person does not exist in the sterilization area at all, the controller 110 determines that the person has passed through the sterilization apparatus without satisfying the sterilization requirement.

For example, in the present embodiment, the second sensor 132 includes at least two pairs of reflective type photosensors, one pair of reflective type photosensors being provided at an entrance of the apparatus main body 140 and configured to sense whether or not a person passes through the entrance, and the other pair of reflective type photosensors being provided at an exit of the apparatus main body 140 and configured to sense whether or not a person passes through the exit. The sensing directions of the two pairs of sensors may be offset by an angle (e.g., 30 °) with respect to the vertical direction toward the center line of the body frame 143 in the lateral line direction such that their respective sensing regions intersect at a middle position of the outlet in the vertical direction. Pairs of sensors can ensure reliable sensing of the passage of a person. For example, it may be set to judge that a person passes as long as one sensor of the paired sensors senses the passage of the person, and thus, it is possible to effectively judge that the person passes even if the other sensor fails. For example, it may be set that the paired sensors each sense the passage of a person and determine that the person passes, and therefore, erroneous determination may be prevented. But the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In further embodiments, the second sensor 132 may be provided only at the inlet or only at the outlet, and only one or more may be provided. Alternatively, the second sensor 132 may be a weight sensor, a pressure-sensitive sensor, a contact sensor, or the like provided at the inlet or the outlet.

In addition, the disinfection device may also interact with the user to guide and prompt the user. The controller 110 is configured to generate alert instructions and the user interface 150 is configured to communicate the alert instructions generated by the controller 110 to a person approaching the disinfection device. In the present embodiment, the user interface 150 includes a speaker mounted on the main body frame 143. But the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Additionally or alternatively, the user interface 150 may include a display panel, input devices such as a keyboard and buttons. The prompting instructions may be communicated to the person by one or more of sound, text, animation, or the like.

For example, the controller 110 may transmit prompt instructions to personnel in the sterilization area via the user interface 150 to guide the personnel in performing the sterilization. In particular, the controller 110 is configured to perform a disinfection operation when the first sensing signal indicates that a person starts to be present in the disinfection area, including: generating a first prompt instruction prompting a person to start spraying the bath liquid, and then controlling the spray nozzles 121 to spray the bath liquid for a first spray time period; when the first sensing signal indicates that the person is present in the sterilization area for the second stay period, generating a second prompt instruction prompting the person to start spraying the shower agent, and then controlling the showerhead 122 to spray the shower agent; when the first sensing signal indicates that the person is present in the disinfection area for a third dwell period, generating a third prompt instruction prompting the person to start spraying the bath liquid, and then controlling the spray nozzle 121 to spray the shower liquid for a second spray period; and generating a fourth prompting instruction that prompts the person that the disinfection requirement has been met and that the person may exit the disinfection device when the sensed signal indicates that the person is present in the disinfection area for the first dwell period. The first dwell period is greater than the third dwell period, which is greater than the second dwell period.

For example, the first prompt instruction includes a voice prompt of "start shower for 3 minutes", the second prompt instruction includes a voice prompt of "release shower gel, please scrub for 2 minutes", the third prompt instruction includes a voice prompt of "start shower for 3 minutes", and the fourth prompt instruction includes a voice prompt of "disinfection is complete, can leave".

Through leading personnel to disinfect, improved disinfecting equipment's easy operability to disinfection effect has been guaranteed.

The controller 110 may prompt personnel through the user interface 150 that the sterilization requirements have not been met. For example, the controller 110 is configured to generate an instruction to alert personnel that re-sterilization is required when the disinfection personnel exit the disinfection area from the outlet based on the sensed signal determining that the disinfection personnel do not meet the disinfection requirements. Further, the controller 110 is configured to re-perform the sterilization operation when the sensing signal indicates that a person is present again in the sterilization area. For example, the instruction to require re-sterilization includes a voice prompt to "sterilization is not complete, please return to the sterilization zone to re-sterilize". For example, when the first sensing signal and the fourth sensing signal indicate that the person passes through the outlet without staying in the sterilization zone for the first staying period, it is determined that the person does not satisfy the sterilization requirement and leaves the sterilization zone from the outlet. Alternatively, the controller 110 is configured to generate an instruction to alert personnel that the spray liquid flow needs to be adjusted and that re-sterilization is required when the second sensed signal indicates that the flow rate of the spray liquid is less than the predetermined flow rate.

The controller 110 may have an external communication interface for connecting to a management server, either wired or wirelessly. For example, the controller 110 may be connected to the management server by wires that are routed through in-line outlets 111 at the top of the device body 133. In addition, connecting wires, such as the power wires of the disinfection device, may also be routed through in-line outlets 111. When the person leaves or passes the sterilizing apparatus without satisfying the sterilization requirements and is not re-sterilized according to the prompt, the controller 110 records the identity information of the person in its memory or uploads the identity information of the person to the management server through the external communication interface. These people will be recorded in the black list.

Further, the apparatus body 140 may further include a door check device 141 including a door check member for opening and closing the outlet. For example, the access control member may be a door or a railing. The controller 110 is communicatively connected to the access device 141 and is configured to allow the access member to open the exit when it is determined that the person meets the disinfection requirements; and when the judge personnel do not meet the disinfection requirement, forbidding the entrance guard component to open the outlet. Furthermore, access control members such as doors or railings may also be provided at the access opening.

The door guard 141 may further include an identification means 142 for acquiring identification information of a person. Identification means 142 facilitates management of personnel entering and exiting the facility. The identification means 142 may comprise two NFC means, which are installed at the entrance and the exit, respectively, and the person may identify by swiping an access card to be sterilized with and through the sterilizing device. When the person identified by the identification member 142 is on the blacklist, the person is not allowed to enter the disinfection apparatus. For example, when a person identified by the identity identification component 142 is on a blacklist, the person is prompted through the user interface 150 that the person cannot enter the venue because of the presence of a violation record.

The apparatus body 140 may also include a drape (not shown) disposed about the body frame 143 that prevents or reduces spray liquid spillage. The drape may be opaque, which is beneficial for protecting the privacy of a person.

The device body 140 may also include a stowable step 160 that is transitionable between a stowed state and a deployed state. In the stowed state, the stowable step 160 is inside the body frame 143; in the deployed state, the retractable steps 160 extend out of the main body frame 143 to expand the area of the bottom. In the stowed state, the stowable step 160 may be housed at the bottom of the apparatus body 140. The stowable pedal 160 may be in the form of a drawer or a folding flap, to which the present disclosure is not limited. The retractable pedals 160 help keep the overall size of the disinfection apparatus small for ease of installation and help provide a larger use space for personnel.

The controller 110 includes control logic for controlling the spray system 120, receiving the sensed signals from the sensing system 130, and determining whether the person meets the sterilization requirements based on the sensed signals including, for example, the first sensed signal, the second sensed signal, the third sensed signal, and the fourth sensed signal, as described above. In addition, the controller 110 may also include setting logic for a user to set parameters of the disinfection device. The setting logic is configured to receive user input commands from the user interface 150 and set the first dwell period, the second dwell period, the third dwell period, the wait period, the first spray period, the second spray period, and so on based on the user input commands.

The present disclosure also provides a sterilizing system including the sterilizing apparatus as described above, a front dressing room provided at one side where the inlet of the sterilizing apparatus is located, and a rear dressing room provided at the other side where the outlet of the sterilizing apparatus is located.

An image sensor such as a camera may be provided at the entrance of the front dressing room. For example, the image sensor may send image data to the controller 110 or a management server to identify the identity of the person who will use the disinfection device by face recognition. The use of the image sensor for face recognition to identify the identity of a person helps to avoid the person impersonating the identity of other persons with an access card.

The present disclosure also provides a sterilization method using a sterilization apparatus, such as the sterilization apparatus described above. Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 6, the method may include: step S1, sensing the presence of a person in or near the sterile area with the sensing system 130; step S2, spraying shower liquid to the disinfection area by using the spray nozzle 121; step S3, receiving a sensing signal from the sensing system 130; and step S4, judging whether the personnel meet the disinfection requirement based on the sensing signal.

Sensing the presence of a person in or near the sterile area with the sensing system 130 includes:

sensing whether a person is present in the sterilization area using the first sensor 131, an

At least one of whether a person passes through the entrance and whether a person passes through the exit is sensed with the second sensor 132.

Receiving the sensing signal from the sensing system 130 includes receiving a first sensing signal from the first sensor 131 indicating the presence of a person in the sterile area, and receiving at least one of a third sensing signal from the second sensor 132 indicating whether the person passed through the entrance and a fourth sensing signal indicating whether the person passed through the exit.

Determining whether the person meets the disinfection requirements based on the sensing signal includes:

when the first sensing signal indicates that the person exists in the disinfection area for a first stay time period, judging that the person meets the disinfection requirement; and

when the third sensing signal and the fourth sensing signal indicate that the person passes through at least one of the entrance and the exit and the third sensing signal indicates that the person does not exist in the sterilization area, it is judged that the person passes through the sterilization apparatus without satisfying the sterilization requirement, and the person information is recorded in a blacklist in the local storage or the remote management server.

In addition, the method further comprises: the showering agent is sprayed to the sterilization area by the showering agent spray 122.

Further, the method includes generating a reminder instruction and communicating the generated reminder instruction to personnel within the sterile field using the user interface 150.

Further, the method may include various steps, such as a sterilization operation, performed by the controller 110 as described above.

The various steps described above may be performed in the order described, in other orders, or in parallel.

Furthermore, the present disclosure also provides a computer readable medium storing a computer program which, when executed by the controller 110, causes the controller 110 to perform the above-mentioned method.

The scope of the present disclosure is not defined by the embodiments described above but is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims (14)

1. A personal disinfection apparatus, comprising:

an apparatus body including an inlet, an outlet, a top, and a bottom, and including a sterilization zone;

a shower system including a spray nozzle disposed at a top of the device body and configured to spray shower liquid toward the disinfection region;

a sensing system configured to sense the presence of a person in or near the sterile field; and

a controller communicatively connected with the sensing system and configured to receive a sensing signal from the sensing system and determine whether the person meets a disinfection requirement based on the sensing signal,

the sensing system includes a first sensor configured to sense the presence of the person in the disinfection area.

2. A disinfection apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

the first sensor includes a weight sensor disposed at a bottom of the apparatus body corresponding to the sterilization area and including an elastic member and a displacement switch connected to the elastic member.

3. A disinfection apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

the controller is communicatively connected with the first sensor and configured to:

receiving a first sensing signal from the first sensor indicative of the presence of the person in the sterile area; and

determining whether the person meets a disinfection requirement based on the first sensing signal,

wherein the controller determines that the person meets the disinfection requirement when the first sensing signal indicates that the person is present in the disinfection area for a first dwell period.

4. A disinfection apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

the sensing system also includes a water flow sensor disposed in a shower conduit connected to the spray head and configured to sense a flow rate at which the spray head sprays shower liquid.

5. Sterilization apparatus according to claim 4,

the controller is communicatively connected with the first sensor and the water flow sensor and configured to:

receiving a first sensing signal from the first sensor indicative of the presence of the person in the sterile area;

receiving a second sensing signal from the water flow sensor indicative of a flow rate at which the spray head sprays shower liquid; and

determining whether the person meets a disinfection requirement based on the first and second sensing signals,

wherein the controller determines that the person meets the disinfection requirement when the first sensing signal indicates that the person is present in the disinfection area for a first dwell period, and the second sensing signal indicates that the flow rate at which the spray nozzle sprays shower liquid is greater than a predetermined flow rate during the first dwell period.

6. A disinfection apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

the sensing system includes a second sensor configured to sense at least one of whether the person passes through the entrance and whether the person passes through the exit.

7. Sterilization apparatus according to claim 6,

the controller is communicatively connected with the first sensor and the second sensor and configured to:

receiving a first sensing signal from the first sensor indicative of the presence of the person in the sterile area;

receiving at least one of a third sensing signal indicating whether the person passes through the entrance and a fourth sensing signal indicating whether the person passes through the exit from the second sensor, and

determining, based on at least one of the third and fourth sensed signals and based on the first sensed signal, whether the person has passed a disinfection apparatus without meeting disinfection requirements,

wherein the controller determines that the person has passed through the disinfection apparatus without meeting the disinfection requirements when the third and fourth sensed signals indicate that the person has passed through at least one of the inlet and the outlet and the first sensed signal indicates that the person has not been present in the disinfection area.

8. The disinfection apparatus of claim 6,

the second sensor includes at least two pairs of reflective photoelectric sensors, one pair of reflective photoelectric sensors being disposed at an entrance of the apparatus main body and configured to sense whether the person passes through the entrance, and the other pair of reflective photoelectric sensors being disposed at an exit of the apparatus main body and configured to sense whether the person passes through the exit.

9. A disinfection apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

the controller is configured to generate a prompt instruction,

the disinfection device also includes a user interface communicatively coupled to the controller and configured to communicate the reminder instruction generated by the controller to a person in proximity to the disinfection device.

10. A disinfection apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

the shower system further includes a showerhead disposed at the top and configured to spray a showerhead toward a disinfection region,

the showerhead is communicatively connected with the controller.

11. A disinfection apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

the controller is configured to generate a prompt instruction,

the disinfection device further comprises a user interface communicatively connected with the controller and configured to communicate the reminder instruction generated by the controller to personnel within the disinfection area,

the controller is configured to:

generating an instruction to alert the person that re-sterilization is required when the person is determined to not meet sterilization requirements to exit the sterilization zone from the outlet based on the sensed signal,

and re-performing the disinfection operation when the sensed signal indicates that the person is again present in the disinfection area.

12. A disinfection apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

the apparatus body includes a body frame defining the inlet, the outlet, the top, and the bottom,

the disinfection apparatus further comprises a stowable step, the stowable step being shiftable between a stowed state and a deployed state,

in the stowed state, the stowable step is internal to the body frame,

in the deployed state, the retractable step extends out of the body frame to expand the area of the base.

13. A disinfection apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

the apparatus body includes an entrance guard device including an entrance guard member for closing and opening the exit,

the controller is communicatively connected with the access control device and configured to:

when the person is judged to meet the disinfection requirement, allowing the access control member to open the outlet; and

and when the person is judged not to meet the disinfection requirement, forbidding the access control component to open the outlet.

14. A disinfecting system, characterized in that it comprises:

a disinfection apparatus as claimed in any one of the claims 1-13;

a front dressing room provided at a side where an entrance of the sterilizing apparatus is located; and

a rear dressing room arranged at the other side of the outlet of the sterilizing device.

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