EP4196184A1

EP4196184A1 - Uv-ray sanitizing device

Info

Publication number: EP4196184A1
Application number: EP21789882.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gian Pietro Beghelli
Original assignee: Beghelli SpA
Current assignee: Beghelli SpA
Priority date: 2020-10-06
Filing date: 2021-09-09
Publication date: 2023-06-21
Also published as: IT202000023488A1; WO2022074688A1

Abstract

A UV-ray sanitizing device, comprising an external casing (23) which identifies an inner chamber (19) made of material resistant to UV radiation and having reflective walls (18). In said inner chamber (19), there is housed a UV source (10, 11 ), which is located in a sanitizing chamber (16) having a shorter length than said inner chamber (19), and one or more fans (12) placed at the inlet and/or at the outlet of the inner chamber (19) thus facing, respectively, an inlet grid (13) and/or an outlet grid (14) associated with inlet and/or outlet air (F, G) ducts (20, 21 ). The sanitizing device also comprises a management and operating electronic circuit (15), which is located below the UV source (10, 11 ) and inside the sanitizing chamber (16) and is separated from the UV source (10, 11 ) by a metal protective element (17). The device has a strut-tube structure with a square section and long and narrow inner and sanitizing chambers (16, 19), and with the fans (12) being series-connected, or a parallelepiped structure with large inlet and outlet openings and the fans (12) being placed in parallel.

Description

UV-RAY SANITIZING DEVICE

This invention relates generically to a UV-ray air sanitizing device.

More specifically, the invention relates to a UV-ray sanitizing device, wherein the air, which is circulated by a fan, passes through a chamber inside the device, which is irradiated by ultraviolet energy in the C band (UVC).

The literature relating to sanitizing using UV rays is long-standing (for example, the germicidal applications of low pressure gas discharge UVC lamps are known), while as regards to sanitizing environments, four solutions are used:

1. UVC lamps that illuminate the upper parts of rooms, taking the utmost care not to irradiate energy towards the occupants for safety reasons;

2. surface sanitizing systems by direct irradiation in the absence of people present in the area;

3. air treatment systems with forced ventilation to be applied inside the premises;

4. air treatment systems integrated in building air conditioning devices (HVAC), in which UVC lamps are positioned inside the ventilation ducts.

The aim of this invention is to provide a device for treating and in particular, for sanitizing, air by means of UV radiation, which is extremely compact and which can be quickly installed within an inhabited environment.

Another aim of this invention is to provide a UV-ray air sanitizing device, which allows sanitizing the air in the rooms wherein it is installed using a chamber designed so as not to let out the radiation and at the same time, maximizing air circulation.

A further aim of the invention is to provide a UV-ray air sanitizing device which allows sanitizing the air by means of the germicidal action of an internal UV source, which irradiates the air treated by the device itself. The device sanitizes the air in the rooms wherein it is installed by supplying a certain dose of radiation to the aerosols at each crossing of the internal UVC chamber (in order to reduce the diffusion by aeriform form of bacteria and viruses in the rooms) and is dimensioned so as to treat the entire volume of air in the room wherein it is installed one or more times every hour for the fastest possible germicidal action.

These and other aims are achieved by a UV-ray air sanitizing device according to claim 1 . Other detailed features are in the dependent claims. Advantageously, the sanitizing device the object of this invention contains an inner chamber illuminated by a UV source through which air circulation is forced by means of a ventilation system. The light cannot escape from the chamber and the passing air carries the aerosols.

The microorganisms contained in the so-called “cores” in the aerosols are deactivated when they pass through the chamber, being exposed to UVC light at wavelengths of about 250-260 nm. There is the maximum susceptibility, that is the greatest germicidal capacity of UV radiation, at these wavelengths.

In particular, the sanitizing device is extremely compact and includes selfregulation mechanisms, which optimize the germicidal action and energy consumption, allow remote control and are made with particularly efficient technical solutions for blocking UV radiation and the passage of air.

Further aims and advantages of the invention will be more evident from the following description, referring to preferred but non-limiting embodiments of the UV-ray sanitizing device, according to this invention, and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a UV-ray sanitizing device according to the invention;

- Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of a UV- ray sanitizing device according to this invention;

- Figure 3 shows a longitudinal section of the sanitizing device of Figure 1 , according to the invention, wherein the UV source consists of one or more UVC discharge lamps;

- Figure 4 shows a longitudinal section of the sanitizing device of Figure 1 , according to the invention, wherein the UV source consists of a matrix of UVC LED diodes; - Figure 5A shows a longitudinal section of the sanitizing device of Figure 2, according to the invention, wherein the UV source consists of one or more UVC discharge lamps;

- Figure 5B shows a transverse section of the sanitizing device of Figure 2, according to the invention, wherein the UV source consists of one or more UVC discharge lamps;

- Figure 6A shows a longitudinal section of the sanitizing device of Figure 2, according to the invention, wherein the UV source consists of a matrix of UVC LED diodes;

- Figure 6B shows a transverse section of the sanitizing device of Figure 2, according to the invention, wherein the UV source consists of a matrix of UVC LED diodes;

- Figure 7 shows a first type of deflector used in the UV-ray sanitizing device according to this invention;

- Figure 8 shows a second type of deflector used in the UV-ray sanitizing device according to this invention;

- Figure 9 shows a first type of fan used in the UV-ray sanitizing device according to this invention;

- Figure 10 shows a second type of fan used in the UV-ray sanitizing device according to this invention;

- Figures 1 1 , 12 and 13 show a series of views of a removable cartridge installed in the UV-ray sanitizing device according to this invention;

- Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating the electronic control circuit of the UV-ray sanitizing device, according to this invention;

- Figure 15 shows a Cartesian graph of the yield curve of the UVC emission of a UVC discharge lamp as a function of the operating temperature of the lamp itself.

With particular reference to the aforementioned Figures 1 to 6, the UV-ray sanitizing device, according to this invention, includes:

- an external casing 23, which identifies an inner chamber 19, preferably made of metallic material or in any case very resistant to UV radiation, in which a UV source is housed (which can be one or more low pressure mercury discharge lamps 10 or a set of UVC LEDs 11 ) positioned in a sanitizing chamber 16 having a shorter length than the inner chamber 19, and one or more fans 12 placed at the inlet and/or outlet of the chamber 19 and facing, respectively, an inlet grid 13 and/or an outlet grid 14;

- an electronic circuit 15, which manages the operation of the assembly, located below the UV source and inside the sanitizing chamber 16 and separated from the UV source by a metal protective element 17, which protects the internal electrical parts from UV radiation.

The fans 12 create, inside the chamber 19, the forced circulation of the air taken from the outside (flow F) and re-introduced to the outside (flow G) downstream of the chamber 19 itself, while the internal walls 18 of the chamber 19 are preferably made of mirror aluminium for maximum reflection of UV radiation.

A first embodiment of the sanitizing device is that shown in attached Figure

I , while a second embodiment is shown in attached Figure 2.

The device in Figure 1 is characterized by a strut-tube structure with a square section with an inner chamber 19 and a long and narrow sanitizing chamber 16 and fans 12 being series-connected, while the device in Figure 2 has larger inlet and outlet openings, reduced length of the inner 19 and sanitizing 16 chambers and fans 12 being placed in parallel with each other. Attached Figure 3 schematically illustrates a longitudinal section of a sanitizing device of the type of Figure 1 with the UV source consisting of one or more low pressure discharge lamps 10.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates a longitudinal section of a sanitizing device of the type of Figure 1 with the UV source consisting of UVC LED diodes

I I . In this case, the UV source consists of, in particular, several strips containing matrixes (arrays) of UVC LED diodes 1 1 , with emission wavelengths at 270 nm or 280 nm or a mix of these wavelengths or other neighbouring ones. Attached Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the internal diagram of a sanitizing device of the type shown in Figure 2, in the two versions with one or more UVC lamps 10 and UVC LED diodes 1 1 , respectively.

The UV source is preferably a low pressure mercury discharge lamp 10, or a set of UVC LEDs 1 1 . Mercury discharge lamps have a peak emission at 254 nm, precisely at the greatest deactivation efficiency of microorganisms, such as viruses and bacteria. Furthermore, mercury discharge lamps in the state of the art have a high energy efficiency and about 1/4 of the electrical power supply is converted into UV radiation. The UVC LEDs 1 1 on the other hand, currently have a low efficiency, with a lower order of magnitude, but as soon as technological evolution makes more efficient solid state sources (LEDs) available, it will be trivial to replace the discharge lamp (as indicated in the construction diagrams shown in the attached figures).

In particular, the UVC LEDs 11 have the advantage of being able to tune the wavelength of the light emitted and possibly build a matrix of LEDs consisting of several components with different wavelengths. In this way, the sanitizing device can be of the "multiband" type and more effectively hit different microorganisms, as each LED is tuned to more effectively hit specific bonds of the DNA and/or RNA chains.

To maximize the dose of energy absorbed by the aerosol at each crossing of the sanitizing chamber 16 illuminated by the UV source, the sizing is carried out on the basis of the following criteria:

- volume of the illuminated area as large as possible;

- maximum available power of UV radiation in the allocated volume.

In fact, the germicidal dose Eg (which corresponds dimensionally to the density of the UVC energy to which the microorganisms are subjected) is expressed in J/m² and is obtained as the product between the radiant power Pg (W/m²) in the illuminated area and the crossing time T of the zone itself, i.e. Eg = Pg x T.

It is evident that the greater the volume of the illuminated chamber 16, the greater the crossing time by the aerosol, air flow being equal. The scientific literature indicates the minimum necessary doses ranging from a few J/m² to 100 J/m², depending on the susceptibility of the viruses and bacteria to be killed.

Using low pressure discharge lamps 10 from 10 to 200W as UV sources, average power densities ranging from a few tens to a few hundreds of W/m² are typically obtained in the illuminated sanitizing chamber 16. It is possible to size the sanitizing device by choosing the power of the lamp 10 according to the desired germicidal dose as a function of the desired air flow, and therefore of the time spent in the sanitizing chamber 16.

Sanitizing devices are sized to obtain the maximum possible air flow, dimensions being equal, with the lowest possible noise, defined as a certain germicidal dose.

To have a frequent air change in a closed environment, the flow imposed by the sanitizing device must be approximately equal to the volume of the environment in an hour (1 air change per hour) or several air changes per hour. For example, in an environment of 30 cubic meters, a sanitizer with a flow of 30 m³/hour guarantees on average about one change every hour.

Sanitizing devices are therefore devices that must guarantee air flows from a few tens of m³/hour to a few hundreds of m³/hour. To make devices with good performance, it is necessary to obtain high flows with low noise and high UVC doses.

The sanitizing chamber 16 is made with reflective inner walls 18 so as to minimize any shadow areas and ensure that the aerosol is hit by the UVC light during the entire time it remains in the chamber 16 itself. In addition, suitable air deflectors 22 are positioned in the inlet and outlet air ducts 20 and 21 which prevent the UV radiation from escaping from the chamber 16 towards the outside of the device and which at the same time, guarantee the lowest pressure losses possible in the ducts 20, 21 .

Both in the sanitizing devices with long and narrow inner chambers 19 (Figures 1 , 3 and 4) and in the sanitizing devices with larger inlet and outlet openings (Figures 2, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B), the fans 12 which force the flow of air inside the devices must overcome the aerodynamic resistances of the deflectors 22, which in turn prevent the escape of UV radiation from the devices themselves.

The shapes of the deflectors 22 that have been developed are those of “V” and “W” profiles, as shown in attached Figures 7 and 8.

The deflectors 22 are made of metallic materials (or other materials resistant to UV radiation) with surfaces treated in such a way as to minimize the UVC reflection coefficient by means of paint or other surface treatments; for example, matt black painted steel can be used.

In this way, the UV rays R1 generated inside the sanitizing chamber 16 cannot escape unless they have multiple reflections which are strongly attenuated by the low reflection coefficient of the surfaces of the deflectors 22, and escape as strongly attenuated UV rays R2 leaving the chamber 16. For example, if each reflection had a coefficient equal to 0.1 , in the example of the ray R1 of Figure 7, there would be a transmission coefficient of the ray R1 equal to 0.1⁵ (as there are 5 reflections in the figurative example), that is 10 ppm, corresponding to an attenuation equal to 99.999%. At the same time the “V” profile of the deflectors 22 (Figure 7) allows an optimal passage of the air through specific paths (threads R3).

Another shape of the deflectors 22, which can be conveniently provided in the sanitizing devices, the object of the invention, in which the power of the UVC lamps 10 is greater and therefore the intensity of the UV radiation is greater, is the " W ” shape, shown schematically in attached Figure 8.

This second shape of deflector 22 is characterized by a greater attenuation of UVC light compared to the “V” shape, while maintaining low aeraulic losses.

Both the “V” and “W” shapes of the deflectors 22 allow confining the UVC light inside the sanitizing chamber 16 and transferring the air to be sanitized with the least possible aeraulic losses.

The fans 12 used are preferably of the axial type with DC power supply and integrated brushless motor with speed control (like the one shown in attached Figure 9). The sanitizing devices with larger inlet and outlet openings can alternatively use tangential fans 12 (such as the one shown in attached Figure 10).

Advantageously, each fan 12 is speed controlled and this control allows minimizing the noise emitted by the sanitizing device and maximizing the air flow in the following manners.

In elongated sanitizing devices, the presence of two fans 12 in series, one near the air inlet grid 13 and one near the outlet grid 14, allows obtaining a lower speed of rotation of the blades of each fan 12 with respect to an equivalent solution using a single fan 12 placed at the inlet or outlet, intensity of the air flow (in m³/hour) being equal.

Since the noise is associated by a non-linear relationship with the speed of rotation of the blades, the gain in silence of the solution provided is evident. The elongated sanitizing devices are also characterized by a flow tube with a small section compared to the length which determines possible resonance frequencies of the air column in the acoustic range.

The result is the presence of oscillations at frequencies of a few hundred Hz, which are very annoying to the ear, which must be minimized. Again in sanitizing devices of this type, the distance C of the inlet fan 12 inside the flow tube with respect to the inlet grid 13 affects the features of these resonances, which can be minimized by choosing an optimal position.

Finally, speed control is essential to determine the optimum operating speed for noise reduction and maximization of the overall airflow intensity. For example, by adjusting the speeds of the fans 12 which are identical or very similar to each other, it is easy to obtain stationary waves which cause low frequency beats which are even more annoying to the ear. In this regard, it is possible to advantageously use two speed regulation techniques:

1 ) choice of pairs of speeds always in appropriate relationship to each other, in order to avoid beats and minimize resonances;

2) modulation of the speed of the individual fans 12 based on a stochastic computation to obtain a dispersion of the acoustic spectrum which attenuates the acoustic resonances. In sanitizing devices with larger inlet and outlet openings, the problem of resonances in the acoustic band is less, since they are flow pipes with a large section as compared to their length. In this case, high air flow intensity values are obtained by using several fans 12 in parallel (for example, 3 fans 12 in parallel, as in the embodiment examples shown in attached Figures 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B).

Also in this case, the presence of several fans 12 can cause stationary waves and beats if the speeds are not suitably regulated and also in this case, some techniques are advantageously used in order to minimize the noise emitted, such as for example:

1 ) an accurate speed control, by means of a speed sensor incorporated in each fan 12 and a feedback control which keeps the fans 12 all at the same speed,

2) a modulation of the speed of the individual fans based on a stochastic computation to obtain a dispersion of the acoustic spectrum that eliminates beats.

To facilitate the maintenance of the described sanitizing devices for the user, in particular for those with larger inlet and outlet openings, a removable cartridge 24 is advantageously used, which includes the entire sanitizing chamber 16 containing the UVC lamps 10. This cartridge 24 is easily replaceable by the user with a new cartridge when the UVC lamps 10 are exhausted. Alternatively, the user can easily remove the cartridge 24 and easily change the UVC lamps 10 of the cartridge 24 in a more convenient way than by acting directly in the sanitizing device. Attached Figures 11 , 12 and 13 illustrate an example of a cartridge 24 applied to a sanitizing device of the type shown in Figure 2.

The cartridge 24 advantageously has a body 25 made of steel, an internal coating 26 in aluminium with UVC reflectivity higher than 90% and a foldable handle 27, positioned on the body 25, for easy extraction by the user, while the UVC lamps 10 are connected by means of quick insertion electrical connection systems 28. The block diagram of attached Figure 14 illustrates the electronic control circuit 15 of the sanitizing device, which integrates all the control and regulation functions of the various electrical component elements.

A microprocessor 29 of the electronic circuit 15, connected to a universal voltage power supply 31 (connected in turn to the 90-300 VAC, 50-60 Hz power supply network) manages the operation of the entire system and coordinates the various subsystems in the following manner:

• turns the UVC discharge lamps 10 ON and OFF individually, possibly also adjusting their power, by means of a multi-output electronic ballast 30 for power supply;

• determines how many UVC lamps 10 to turn ON as a function of the speed of the fans 12 and the desired germicidal dose;

• measures the temperature of the UVC discharge lamps 10, possibly adjusting the power of the lamp itself and the speed of the fans 12 to maintain the temperature itself at a predetermined level;

• controls a series of RGB multicolour LED signalling diodes 32 indicating the status of the device to the user (device switched ON, set speed, device fault, etc.);

• analyses the status of a button 35 for the local actions of the user for regulating the device, such as selecting the speed of the fans 12, switching the device ON and OFF, etc.;

• manages a radio transceiver 34, for example a BLE Bluetooth transceiver, for communication with external devices (such as smartphones or tablets) regarding the configuration and control of the device, or manages an IEEE802.15.4 type radio 33, such as the "Beghelli FM". In equivalent solutions, the radio transceiver 33, 34 can be replaced by a wired communication interface that exploits the communication capacity of centrally controlled lighting systems (e.g. SD Beghelli or NuBe Beghelli) to receive commands from a centralized control system.

In practice, the operation of the UV sanitizing device, which is the object of this invention, is as follows. In the presence of AC power, once installed, the device turns ON the UVC lamps 10 and the fans 12 in order to activate the air sanitizing function.

The whole power supply circuit uses AC voltage and is universal; operating from 90 VAC to 300VAC, it can be connected to any single-phase utility at 50 or 60 Hz in any country in the world.

The sanitizing mode can be configured via the BLE radio interface 34 with an APP from a smartphone or tablet or from a centralized remote control management system, possibly cloud-based (e.g. NuBe Beghelli).

It is possible to define the intensity of the overall air flow by choosing, for example, between:

• a slow speed corresponding to a lower flow (and therefore a less frequent air exchange) and greater silence,

• an intermediate intensity of air flow, and

• a maximum flow intensity corresponding to the maximum speed of the fans 12 defined for the specific sanitizing device model.

It is also possible to choose the sanitization switch-ON cycle by setting a daily or weekly timer, then choosing the switch-ON and switch-OFF times and the corresponding operating intensities.

Furthermore, the remote control system makes it possible to automatically transmit the diagnostic information of the various sanitizing devices to the user, so that the user is warned of any operating anomalies, such as for example the exhaustion of a lamp with consequent need for replacement. Advantageously, the use of more than one lamp 10 allows maximizing the useful life of the device.

In fact, each device is sized for the maximum germicidal dose which corresponds to the maximum air intensity speed corresponding to all the lamps 10 ON; but when the intensity of air used by the user is, for example the intermediate or the minimum one, the air flow is reduced and therefore in these operating speeds, only a subset of the lamps 10 will remain ON, leaving the others OFF, while maintaining the same germicidal dose.

In this way, the useful life of the lamps 10, which is of the order of 10,000 hours, is spread over longer periods of use. For example, a sanitizing device of the type shown in attached Figure 2 with two lamps 10 will operate with both lamps 10 switched ON only at maximum speed, while at intermediate speed or at minimum speed, given that the air flow is at least halved, only one of the two lamps 10 will be switched ON while maintaining the same germicidal dose (the air flow being halved, also the intensity of the UVC light can be halved, UVC dose being equal).

The microprocessor 29 alternates the periods of switching ON the two lamps 10 in an equally distributed manner; in this way, with use at intermediate intensities, the useful life of the entire device is doubled, reaching 20,000 hours (more than 2 years of continuous operation) without the need to replace the lamps 10 themselves. The low pressure mercury discharge UVC lamps 10 have a yield curve of the UVC emission which is significantly dependent on the operating temperature of the lamps themselves, as shown in attached Figure 15. Furthermore, a temperature sensor for each discharge lamp 10 can be advantageously inserted in the device. The microprocessor 29 measures the temperature and, acting mainly on the controlling power of the lamp 10, keeps the temperature at the optimal value to have the maximum UVC power emitted, making the lamp 10 work at the optimal point (in the case of attached Figure 15, around 40° C). If necessary, the microprocessor 29 also acts on the speed of the fans 12 (within the operating ranges defined by the aeraulic features) to regulate the temperature to the optimum value. This function allows maintaining maximum germicidal efficacy in any operating environmental condition.

The microprocessor 29 can also be equipped with an astronomical clock, calibrated in the factory with a battery to operate with precise knowledge of the time of day and the period of the year, and thus activate the most appropriate sanitizing cycle moment by moment.

The invention described can be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the inventive concept of the accompanying claims. Moreover, all the details can be replaced by other technically-equivalent elements.

Lastly, the components used, providing they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the dimensions, may vary according to requirements and the prior art.

Where the features and the techniques mentioned in the claims are followed by reference signs, the reference signs have been used only with the aim of increasing the intelligibility of the claims themselves and, consequently, do not constitute in any way a limitation to the interpretation of each element identified, purely by way of example, by the signs numbers.

Claims

1. An UV-ray sanitizing device, comprising an external casing (23) which identifies an inner chamber (19), said inner chamber (19) being made of material resistant to UV radiation and having reflecting walls (18), a UV source (10, 1 1 ) being housed in said inner chamber (19) and being placed in a sanitizing chamber (16) having a shorter length than said inner chamber (19), wherein one or more fans (12) are placed at the inlet and/or at the outlet of said inner chamber (19) thus facing, respectively, an inlet grid (13) and/or an outlet grid (14), said grids (13, 14) being associated with inlet and outlet air (F, G) ducts (20, 21 ), said device also comprising a management and operating electronic circuit (15) which is placed below said UV source (10, 1 1 ) and inside said sanitizing chamber (16), said electronic circuit (15) being separated from said UV source (10, 1 1 ) by a metal protective element (17), characterized in that said device has, alternately, a strut-tube structure with a square section and long and narrow inner and sanitizing chambers (16, 19), said fans (12) being series-connected, or a parallelepiped structure with large inlet and outlet openings and said fans (12) being placed in parallel with each other.

2. The sanitizing device as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that said UV source (10, 1 1 ) includes one or more low pressure discharge lamps or a matrix of UVC LED diodes contained within a strip.

3. The sanitizing device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that air deflectors (22) are provided inside said inlet and outlet air ducts (20, 21 ), so as to prevent the escape of UV radiation from the sanitizing chamber (16) and to guarantee low pressure drops in the inlet and outlet air ducts (20, 21 ).

4. The sanitizing device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that said deflectors (22) are made of materials resistant to UV radiation and are "V" and "W" shaped, so that UV rays (R1 ) generated inside said sanitizing chamber (16) are subject to multiple reflections and are scattered (R2) outside the deflector (22) with low intensity, while the air follows a specific path (R3) inside said deflectors (22).

5. The sanitizing device as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fans (12) are axial or tangential fans and have brushless motors with speed control.

6. The sanitizing device as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fans (12) are series-connected and a first fan (12) is positioned near said inlet grid (13) and a second fan (12) is positioned next to said outlet grid (14).

7. The sanitizing device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that said first fan (12), which is positioned next to said inlet grid (13), is placed at a predetermined distance (C) from said inlet grid (13).

8. The sanitizing device as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fans (12) have all the same speed or each fan (12) is subject to a speed modulation based on a stochastic computation, so as to obtain a dispersion of the acoustic spectrum.

9. The sanitizing device as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said sanitizing chamber (16) containing said UV source (10, 11 ) is housed inside a removable cartridge (24), said cartridge (24) having a body (25) made of steel, an internal reflective coating (26) and a foldable handle (27) which is placed on said body (25) for an easy extraction of the cartridge (24) by the user.

10. The sanitizing device as claimed in at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said electronic circuit (15) comprises a microprocessor (29), connected to a universal voltage power supply (31 ), which manages the operation of said UV source (10, 1 1 ) as a function of the speed of said fans (12), of the germicidal dose and of the temperature of said UV source (10, 11 ).

11 . The sanitizing device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that said microprocessor (29) controls a series of LED diodes (32) indicating the status of the device, said microprocessor (29) also analyzes the status of an ON/OFF and control button (35) and manages an interface or a IEEE802.15 radio (33) or a radio transceiver (34) for communication with 16 external devices and to receive commands from a centralized control system.

12. The sanitizing device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that said microprocessor (29) is equipped with an astronomical clock, calibrated in the factory, to activate suitable sanitizing cycles.