FR3114554A1 - SYSTEM FOR THE DISINFECTION OF A VEHICLE INTERIOR - Google Patents

Abstract

Vehicle disinfection system (S) (V) comprising: a control unit (C); a plurality of supports (1, 1', 1'', 1''), the control box being provided to power and drive the plurality of ultraviolet lamp supports. Figure for publication: Figure 1.

Description

SYSTEM FOR THE DISINFECTION OF A VEHICLE INTERIOR

The present invention relates to a system for disinfection of a vehicle interior. It also relates to a vehicle equipped with such a device and a process for disinfecting said vehicle.

State of the prior art

The Covid-19 pandemic of the year 2020 has highlighted the fear of using mass public transport, such as the metro, and the bus, but also "light" transport such as taxis and passenger vehicles. transport with driver. The use of such transport generates a fear of contracting Covid-19 by using a means of transport shared by many people, confined to a small space such as a vehicle cabin.

Moreover, regardless of the Covid-19 pandemic, cars are a veritable breeding ground for bacteria, some studies indicate that a steering wheel is 4 times dirtier than a toilet, while the rear seats appear 8 times dirtier.

Conventional means of disinfection (with germicidal and virucidal products) or even more innovative means (e.g. with ozone) pose problems such as the harmfulness of the products used or the time required to carry out the operation. It is therefore a question of offering users a disinfection of their vehicles that is more effective than conventional cleaning.

Ultraviolet light has been known for decades for the disinfection of surfaces, air or water, its use is widespread and the scientific literature is abundant on this subject. The germicidal power of ultraviolet light is also known.

For example, the document US20190298875 is known which describes a disinfection system arranged to carry out a disinfection process inside a lavatory in an airplane when the lavatory is not in use. Conversely, the disinfection system is inactive when the cabinet is in use.

This results from a major drawback of the ultraviolet rays currently used, at the wavelength of 254nm, and more precisely of 253.7 nm, which are extremely dangerous for humans. Exposure to this type of light is risky for the eyes and the skin, which can cause cataracts or cancer.

An object of the invention is to remedy all or part of the aforementioned drawbacks.

To this end, provision is made, according to a first aspect of the invention, for an ultraviolet lamp support of generally tubular shape, said support being intended to be mounted on a vehicle, comprising: a mounting arm provided with a assembly intended to be mounted on the vehicle, which comprises an electrical current supply interface and a lamp ballast powered by the power supply interface (and arranged to trigger the ignition of the lamp); a support arm extending from the mounting arm, on which is fixed a cage forming a housing and shockproof protection for the lamp, the cage being further equipped with a socket to which the lamp is electrically connected when it is received in the cage, the socket being electrically connected to the lamp ballast.

The mounting member may comprise a plurality of magnets provided to cooperate with metal parts of the vehicle. When the support is mounted on the vehicle, the mounting arm can be placed against a metal part of the vehicle body, for example against a door of said vehicle. The plurality may be disposed on a side of the mounting arm facing the support arm. According to one embodiment, the mounting arm is disposed against an exterior part of a door, the support arm further extending through a lowered window of said door.

The face of the mounting arm facing the support arm may be coated with a rubber-like polymer, preferably of the nitrile rubber type.

The support according to the invention may also further comprise a presence detection unit provided for cutting off the power supply to the lamp upon detection of a presence. The detection unit can be provided to detect a presence within a predetermined radius and can be placed in the mounting arm or the support arm.

Advantageously, the mounting arm has two side faces, each of the side faces being provided with a connector electrically connected to the power supply interface.

The support according to the invention can also comprise an induction sensor which can for example be placed in the mounting arm. The induction sensor can be provided to cut off the power supply to the lamp when the support is not positioned against a metal vehicle body.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is proposed a vehicle disinfection system comprising a control box and a plurality of supports in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, or one or more of its improvements, in which the control box is provided for electrically supplying and controlling the plurality of supports. The control box can be equipped with a digital display to show the remaining disinfection time.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is proposed a method for disinfecting a vehicle by means of a system according to the second aspect of the invention, or to one or more of its improvements, comprising the following steps : installation of the system on the vehicle, operation of the system control module, completion of the illumination cycle, uninstallation (E5) of the vehicle system.

Description of figures

• [Fig. 1] La figure 1 est une vue schématique de dessus d’un véhicule équipé d’un système de désinfection comportant un boîtier de commande et des supports pour lampe selon l’invention,
• [Fig. 2] La figure 2 est une vue schématique de face du système et du véhicule deFigure 1,
• [Fig. 3] La figure 3 est une vue schématique latérale du système et du véhicule deFigure 1,
• [Fig. 4] La figure 4 est une vue schématique en perspective d’un des supports illustrés surFigure 1,
• [Fig. 5] La figure 5 est une vue schématique latérale du support deFigure 4,
• [Fig. 6] La figure 6 est une vue schématique en perspective du boîtier illustré surFigure 1,
• [Fig. 7] La figure 7 est une vue schématique d’un procédé de désinfection selon l’invention.

Other advantages and particularities of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description of implementations and in no way limiting embodiments, with regard to the appended drawings in which:

• [Fig. 1] Figure 1 is a schematic top view of a vehicle equipped with a disinfection system comprising a control box and lamp supports according to the invention,
• [Fig. 2] Figure 2 is a schematic front view of the system and the vehicle of Figure 1 ,
• [Fig. 3] Figure 3 is a schematic side view of the system and the vehicle of Figure 1 ,
• [Fig. 4] Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of one of the supports illustrated in Figure 1 ,
• [Fig. 5] Figure 5 is a schematic side view of the support forfigure 4,
• [Fig. 6] Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of the housing shown in Figure 1 ,
• [Fig. 7] Figure 7 is a schematic view of a disinfection process according to the invention.

Description of embodiment

The embodiments described below being in no way limiting, variants of the invention may in particular be considered comprising only a selection of characteristics described, subsequently isolated from the other characteristics described, if this selection of characteristics is sufficient. to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention from the state of the prior art. This selection includes at least one feature, preferably functional without structural details, or with only part of the structural details if only this part is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention from the state of the prior art .

In the figures, an element appearing in several figures retains the same reference.

Figure 1 to Figure 3 illustrate a vehicle V equipped with a system S according to one embodiment of the invention. The system S according to the invention comprises a control unit B and four supports 1, 1', 1'', 1''' for an ultraviolet lamp according to the invention. Each of the supports 1, 1', 1'', 1''' is equipped with an ultraviolet lamp, respectively L, L', L'', L'''. More precisely, the supports 1, 1', 1'', 1''' are arranged respectively at the front left, at the front right, at the rear left, and at the rear right of the vehicle, according to its forward direction of travel. The supports are connected to the box C by means of electric cables (not referenced). The box is itself connected to a power supply via an electric cable C and a plug.

Figure 4 more precisely illustrates the support 1 for the ultraviolet lamp according to the invention. Supports 1', 1'', 1''' are identical to support 1. The lamp (not shown) is generally tubular in shape, comprising a filament connected to a pair of conductors. The support 1 has the general conformation of a gun, comprises a mounting arm 100 of substantially parallelepiped shape forming the handle of the gun and a support arm 200 extending from the mounting arm. More specifically, in the example shown, the arm 200 extends cantilevered (when mounted on the vehicle V) from one end of the mounting arm 100.

Ultraviolet light in the 180-320 nm range can be used for disinfection. The minimum UVC doses necessary to destroy a very large number of bacteria, viruses and fungi are very well known. For Covid-19 the minimum dose is 50J/m2 to reduce the amount of virus by 99% with an ultraviolet lamp at 254 nm. With an ultraviolet lamp at 222 nm, the minimum dose to obtain such destruction is 30 J/m2.

Preferably, the ultraviolet light used has a dominant wavelength of 253.7 nm. However, the system could work with all types of germicidal UVC lamps by adapting the exposure time to obtain a sufficient UVC dose to reduce the number of germs of the desired types.

Advantageously, far ultraviolet light is just as germicidal as the usual 254 nm light, but without deleterious effect on humans, can be used. It is planned to select the wavelength whose dominant is 222 nm for which many studies emphasize more particularly the germicidal interest and the human safety. The 207nm wavelength is also considered. However, there are fewer manufacturers of such lamps.

The mounting arm 100 comprises an electrical current supply interface 104, a lamp ballast 106 supplied by the supply interface which is arranged to trigger the ignition of the lamp. The lamp ballast 106 can advantageously be mounted in a so-called rear part of the mounting arm 100 and be accessible by means of a cover 108 arranged on the rear face of the mounting 100.

A cage 202 having an end 2021 is fixed to one end of the support arm 200, for example by means of 4 screws. Part 2021 is designed to receive a socket 204. Cage 202 has a part 2022 extending from end 2021 to form housing and shock protection for the lamp, the lamp being electrically connected to socket 204 via its base when she is received in the cage. The socket 204 is electrically connected to the lamp ballast 106 via connection cables 206. The part 2022 is preferably parallelepipedic in shape and complementary to the lamp. Preferably, windows 20221 are provided on each of the faces of the part 2022 facing the lamp so as to allow 360° illumination.

More specifically, part 2022 is parallelepipedic in shape with two flat opposite sides and two rounded opposite sides in order to best match the shape of the ultraviolet lamp. The four sides have large elliptical openings along their entire length to let in a maximum of light while ensuring significant rigidity.

According to a possibility not illustrated, one of the two arms, that is to say the mounting arm 100 or the support arm 200 can also comprise a presence detection unit provided to cut off the power supply to the lamps on presence detection.

According to a possibility illustrated by the embodiment, the mounting member 102 comprises a plurality of magnets provided to cooperate with metal parts of the vehicle. The magnets can for example be provided to cooperate with an exterior metal part of a vehicle door, for example below a window of said door. The magnets are advantageously of the neodymium magnet type.

The plurality of magnets can for example be arranged on a face of the mounting arm 100, called front, facing the side of the support arm 200. In this way, the front face of the mounting arm 100 can be pressed against the external upright of the door and the support arm 200 can extend inside the vehicle through a lowered window of said door.

The front side of the mounting arm can be covered with a nitrile rubber-like polymer that has shock-absorbing and slip-resistant properties. Thus, contact between the gun and the vehicle body does not cause any scratches on the body of said vehicle.

According to a possibility not illustrated, the mounting arm 100, or the support arm 200, can comprise a detection unit with an induction sensor. This unit is designed to detect the proximity between the support 1 and the bodywork of the vehicle V in order to authorize or not the switching on of the ultraviolet lamp. For added security, bracket 1 can be arranged so that the lamp only lights up if mounting arm 100 is against the car body.

The electrical current supply interface 104 is adapted to be electrically connected to an electrical power supply by means of a connector 110 arranged laterally on the mounting arm 100 on one side of the support arm 200. The mounting arm 100 can also comprise a second connector (not shown and not referenced) making it possible to electrically connect several supports in series, as illustrated in Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 . The second connector can be arranged opposite the connector 110 with respect to the support arm 200. The connectors are of the quick connector type. Furthermore, they are preferably of the IP68 type.

figure 6illustrates a control box B according to the invention provided for controlling the support 1. The control box comprises a power supply unit 302, a control interface 304, a timed relay 306, a quick connection unit 308. The unit power supply 302 comprises in particular a mains connector provided to be electrically connected to the cable C previously described, a fuse, and a general switch of the box B. The control interface 304 is equipped with a push button 3041 and a emergency stop button 3041.

The time delay relay 306 is electrically connected to the power supply unit, in particular via the latter's main switch. The 306 timer relay is designed to energize the quick connect unit for a predetermined time. The duration can be manually modified on the relay (in this case, box B must be opened). The time delay relay 306 is also designed to stop powering the quick connection unit if the emergency stop type button 3041 is pressed.

The quick connection unit 308 comprises two quick connectors, 3081 and 3082, each designed to be electrically connected to a lamp holder according to the invention. Referring to Figure 1 , the quick connector 3081 is electrically connected to the support 1 and the quick connector 3082 is electrically connected to the support 1 '.

According to a possibility not shown, the control box B may also include a digital display to indicate to the operator the remaining decontamination time. For example, for a decontamination time of 60 seconds, the counter is configured to display a remaining time of 60 at 0 seconds by counting down each second passed.

With reference tofigure 7, a method P for disinfection of the vehicle V according to the invention is illustrated. The system S is installed during a step E1. The installation comprises: the installation of the 4 supports 1, 1', 1'', 1''' against each of the doors of the vehicle V, as well as the installation of the box B near the said vehicle; the connection of each of the 1” and 1” supports to the respective 1, 1” box; connecting boxes 1, 1' to control box B; the connection of the control box B to a power supply by means of the cable C. Step E1 may also include the installation by the operator of anti-UVC protection to protect himself, as well as to protect any person potentially near the vehicle. A plastic screen can thus be placed in front of each open window. Since UVC rays have a very short range, keeping your distance is an effective first level of protection.

Process P continues with a step E2 of manually pressing the push button 3041. This step leads to step E3 during which a permanent illumination cycle of the ultraviolet lamps is started. Upon completion of a time delay of predetermined duration, for example 2 minutes, the method goes to step E4 in which the illumination cycle is completed. If the stop button 3042 is pressed during step E3, the method also goes directly to step E4.

The process P finally continues with step E5 of uninstalling the system S. The uninstallation includes: the possible removal by the operator of anti-UV protection; the separation of control box B from the power supply; separation of boxes 1, 1' from control box B; the separation of each of the 1” and 1” supports from the respective 1, 1” housings; the removal of the box B near said vehicle; the removal of the 4 supports 1, 1', 1'', 1'' from each of the doors of vehicle V.

According to a variant, the uninstallation is limited to the stages of the possible removal by the operator of anti-UV protection; the removal of the 4 supports 1, 1', 1'', 1''' from each of the doors of the vehicle V. Thus, it is possible to disinfect several successive vehicles more quickly, by installing and uninstalling the 4 supports at every time.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described and many adjustments can be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, the different features, forms, variants and embodiments of the invention may be associated with each other in various combinations insofar as they are not incompatible or exclusive of each other.

The foregoing description is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the disclosure, application or uses in any way. The general teachings of disclosure can be implemented in various forms. Therefore, although this disclosure includes specific examples, its actual scope should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent after studying the following drawings, specification and claims. It should be understood that one or more steps of a method may be performed in a different order (or simultaneously) without altering the principles of this disclosure. Further, although each of the embodiments is described above as having certain features, one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the disclosure may be implemented in and/or combined with characteristics of any other embodiment, even if this combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive and permutations of one or more embodiments between them remain within the scope of the disclosure.

The spatial and functional relationships between elements (e.g., between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms, including "connected", "engaged", "coupled", "adjacent", "next", "above", "below" and "arranged". Unless explicitly described as "direct", where a relationship between a first and a second element is described in the above disclosure, that relationship may be a direct relationship where no other intervening element is present between the first and the second element, but can also be an indirect relationship where one or more intervening elements are present (either spatially or functionally) between the first and the second element.

In this disclosure, which includes the definitions below, the term "module" or the term "unit" may be replaced by the term "circuit". The term "module" may refer to, be part of, or include: an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog or mixed analog/digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog or mixed analog/digital integrated circuit; a combinatorial logic circuit; a programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated or group) which executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated or group) which stores the code executed by the processor circuit; other appropriate hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of any or all of the above, such as in a system-on-chip.

A module can communicate with other modules using the interface circuit(s). Although the module may be described in this communication as logically communicating directly with other modules, in various implementations the module may actually communicate through a communications system. The communication system includes physical and/or virtual networking equipment such as hubs, switches, routers and gateways. In some implementations, the communication system connects to or traverses a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. For example, the communication system may include multiple LANs connected together over the Internet or point-to-point leased lines using technologies such as Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

Claims (10)

Support (1) for ultraviolet lamp of generally tubular shape, said support being intended to be mounted on a vehicle (V), comprising:

1. a mounting arm (100) provided with a mounting member (102) adapted to be mounted on the vehicle, comprising:
   1. an electric current supply interface (104),
   2. a lamp ballast (106) powered by the power supply interface,
2. a support arm (200) extending from the mounting arm, on which is fixed a cage (202) forming a housing and shock protection for the lamp, the cage being further equipped with a socket (204) to which the lamp is electrically connected when received in the cage, the socket being adapted to be electrically connected to the lamp ballast.

Support according to the preceding claim, in which the mounting member (102) comprises a plurality of magnets provided to cooperate with metal parts of the vehicle. Support according to the preceding claim, in which the plurality of magnets is arranged on a face of the mounting arm (100) facing the support arm (200). A mount according to any preceding claim, wherein a side of the mounting arm (100) facing the support arm is coated with a nitrile rubber polymer. Support according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a presence detection unit provided to cut off the power supply to the lamp on detection of a presence. Support according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the mounting arm (100) has two side faces, each being provided with a connector (110) electrically connected to the power supply interface (104). Support according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising an inductive sensor. Vehicle disinfection system (S) (V) comprising:

1. a control box (C),
2. a plurality of supports (1, 1', 1'', 1''') in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,

wherein the control box is provided to electrically power and drive the plurality of supports. System according to the preceding claim, in which the control unit is equipped with a digital display to display a remaining disinfection time. Method (P) for disinfecting a vehicle (V) by means of a system (S) according to one of the two preceding claims, comprising the following steps:

1. installation (E1) of the system on the vehicle,
2. commissioning (E3) of the system control module,
3. completion (E4) of the illumination cycle,
4. uninstallation (E5) of the vehicle system.