GB2594923A

GB2594923A - Cabin comprising fogger

Info

Publication number: GB2594923A
Application number: GB2006337.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Fletcher Simon; Samsa Jav
Original assignee: Easycabin Holdings Ltd
Current assignee: Easycabin Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 2020-04-30
Filing date: 2020-04-30
Publication date: 2021-11-17
Also published as: GB202006337D0

Abstract

A self-contained cabin comprises a fogger and a control system for automatically controlling operation of the fogger. The control system may be arranged to monitor occupancy of the cabin using infrared sensors and may prevent operation of the fogger when the cabin is occupied. The control system my control access to the cabin by controlling a door lock and may lock the door prior to operating the fogger and maintain the door locked for a predetermined delay period after the fogger has shut off, the delay period may be an hour. There may be an external indication to show the lock status of the door. The cabin may comprise a door closer. The cabin may comprise a smoke detector and a power circuit for electrical devices, both of which may be disabled by the control system during operating the fogger. The fogger may comprise a tank for a fluid comprising a chemical agent to be dispersed, a plurality of nozzles and supply pipes. The nozzles may be provided in each of a plurality of rooms of the cabin and may be mounted to a ceiling of the cabin. The fogger may be arranged to disperse a virucide in mist, fog, aerosol or vapour form to kill virus particles in the air or on surfaces in the cabin. The control system may log, store and transmit data relating to the operation of the fogger.

Description

Cabin comprising Fogger The present disclosure relates to a self-contained cabin comprising a fogger.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the world. Since its advent, there have been strict measures in place at workplaces to limit the risk of transmission. Such measures are likely to extend long into the future as governments seek to re-invigorate economies whilst limiting the spread of the virus. One such measure is a requirement to regularly and thoroughly clean surfaces and touch points, particularly at the end of work shifts. This results from the fact that a key means of transmission is by an individual touching a contaminated surface and subsequently touching their face.

Welfare units are movable enclosures, in the form of self-contained cabins, providing temporary accommodation and welfare facilities, such as basic sanitary and kitchen facilities, to site personnel at work locations, such as building sites or similar, where no other accommodation or welfare facilities may be provided. With recent changes to health and safety legislation, virtually all outside work sites are required have to provide temporary accommodation and welfare facilities for site personnel.

The construction industry is a critical part of any healthy economy. With the re-opening of constructions sites, workers will return to using welfare units. These will require frequent disinfection, particularly whilst numerous special measures remain in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. No matter how strictly workers are instructed to disinfect by cleaning/wiping down surfaces within these units at the end of shifts, there is the clear risk that manual efforts by workers, particularly those whose core tasks do not extend to cleaning, will be insufficient.

The present invention arose in a bid to provide an improved welfare unit, offering an automated disinfection system.

According to the present invention in a first aspect, there is provided a self-contained cabin as recited by Claim 1.

Further, preferred, features are presented in the dependent claims.

The present invention will now be described by way of example only with 5 reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a partially cut away perspective view of a welfare unit according to an embodiment.

It is to be noted that whilst the described embodiment comprises a welfare unit, the present invention is not limited to welfare units, it may find application in the context of numerous and varying self-contained cabins configured for different uses, including offices, showers, toilets, or otherwise, and such units that may be combined with further units to form a modular temporary building or otherwise.

The present invention utilises fogging. Fogging is a method of dispersing tiny droplets of moisture into the air. In the context of the present invention, fogging is preferably used to disperse a suitable virucide into the air. It could, however be used to disperse droplets containing any desired chemical, dependent on specific use/aims. The microscopic droplets will effectively reach even the most secluded areas and will land evenly on surfaces. Following fogging the droplets will evaporate to leave the treated surfaces dry. Typically an hour is sufficient following dispersal. The dry surfaces will be disinfected. The use of a fogger, particularly a fogger that is fully integrated into a self-contained cabin provides certainty that suitable disinfection has taken place. The uncertainties resulting from manual cleaning are effectively removed.

With reference to Figure 1, as a non-limiting example of a self-contained cabin, there is shown a welfare unit 1 according to a first embodiment. The welfare unit 1 may be used on building sites, or the like, in particular where lavatory facilities are not otherwise available. The cabin may be free standing and transportable. It may be formed as a trailer and provided with its own wheels 3, as is the case with the depicted arrangement. It may otherwise be arranged to be transported using a flat-bed vehicle. It could, less preferably, be arranged to be permanently located (by the connection to services, such as plumbing). The welfare unit preferably comprises a typical rectangular box shape.

It may be equipped, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, in accordance with any conventional welfare unit. The present invention is not to be limited to any specific configuration.

The welfare unit may, for example, be provided with one or more toilets and/or showers. It may comprise kitchen facilities. It may be configured as an office or as living accommodation. In the depicted exemplary arrangement, the welfare unit is partitioned into four rooms 4, 5, 6, 7. It could, however, comprise more or less rooms. The first room 4 exemplarily comprises a kitchen, which comprises a work top 8, a sink 9 supplied with water from a water tank 10/the boiler, a kettle 11 and a microwave 12, and seating area, which is provided with a table 13 and seats 14, which may comprise benches, as shown, chairs or otherwise. The second room 7 comprises a toilet, which may comprise a conventional chemical toilet 15, or otherwise and a sink 16 supplied with water by a water tank 17. The third room 6 comprises a drying room, which comprises a heater (not shown) and a number of hooks 18. The fourth room 5 may be used for storage, comprise a shower room, a plant room, or otherwise.

The boiler may heat water in a heating circuit that comprises one or more radiators. There may be one or more radiators provided in one or more or all of the rooms. In addition to the sink (when installed) being provided with hot water from the boiler, there may in some arrangements be provided a shower that is provided with hot water from the boiler. In one particular arrangement, the drying room could be replaced with a shower room.

Each of the rooms may be accessible by an external door (not shown), although this need not be the case, one or more internal doors could be provided.

Various storage/plant areas may be provided for containing the required electrical installation and fogger.

Numerous other arrangements, layouts and provided facilities will be possible, including arrangements with a single room or alternative partitioning into more or less individual rooms/storage areas. Irrespective of the layout/facilities, the welfare unit will preferably feature at least one electrical device connected to an electric/power circuit. There will most likely be a plurality of connected electrical devices and a plurality of plug sockets. Electrical devices may be hard wired to the electric circuit or connected via plug sockets, and may include, for example, any combination of electric lighting, proximity sensors, a water boiler, a heating and/or cooling unit, any of those devices present in the current depicted arrangement and mentioned above, or otherwise.

Power may be supplied by connecting the welfare unit to mains power, or, more preferably, by use of one or more integrated power sources. The present invention is not to be limited to any particular power supply/distribution arrangement.

For example, and without limitation, as integrated power sources there may be provided a fuel cell and/or generator, such as a diesel generator. In addition or alternatively there may be provided an electricity producing means, which uses a renewable energy source, such as one or more solar panels. One or more batteries may be provided to store power from any/all of these power sources.

In the present arrangement, as is preferred, there is provided a plurality of solar panels (not shown) made up of a plurality of photovoltaic cells. The solar panels are preferably located on the roof of the cabin. They could be provided in addition or alternatively on the sides of the cabin, or elsewhere. It is possible that a single solar panel is provided in place of the plurality. It should be noted that whilst the use of one or more solar panels is preferred, the invention is not to be limited as such. The electricity producing means may be arranged to use any alternative renewable energy source. For example, the electricity producing means could comprise a wind turbine connected to a dynamo, or otherwise, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

In addition a hydrogen fuel cell is provided as a further power source. As detailed, the hydrogen fuel cell could be supplemented with or replaced by a generator. Any discussion in respect of the fuel cell is applicable to a generator.

At least one battery (not shown) is preferably provided that is connected to the electrical circuit for storing electrical energy generated by the fuel cell and/or the electricity producing means, in order to supply electrical power on demand to devices within the cabin through the electric circuit. In the present arrangement both the fuel cell and the electricity producing means provide electrical energy to the battery to charge it. Arrangements are, however, possible where only the electricity producing means provides power to charge the battery with the fuel cell providing power to electrical devices directly through the electric circuit, rather than via the at least one battery. There is preferably a battery bank provided that comprises a plurality of batteries. A plurality of batteries may be provided in any conventional array/configuration.

It must be appreciated that arrangements are possible that exclude the electricity producing means, in which case the fuel cell (and/or generator) will comprise the only source of electrical power for providing power to the electric circuit. In such arrangement, the at least one battery may be included or omitted.

Numerous modifications and alterations will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, within the scope of the claims that follow.

Irrespective of the specific configuration of the self-contained cabin, as a welfare unit or otherwise, and of its power supply/storage/distribution arrangement, there is provided a fogger and a control system for automatically controlling operation of the fogger.

It is to be noted that whilst in the present arrangement, there is provided a fogger that comprises a plurality of nozzles (in nozzle heads) that are spaced from one another around the cabin and connected via a pipe network to a centralised tank that contains a suitable fluid for distribution via the nozzles, its configuration will depend on the configuration of the self-contained cabin. In a single room cabin, for example, a standalone fogger may be used, fixed in a suitable location and connected to a control system, the fogger comprising the tank and nozzle(s) in a self-contained housing. In alternatives, a plurality of the standalone units may be provided that are all linked to the control system. The depicted arrangement is presented as an exemplary, non-limiting, arrangement only. The form of the fogger need not be particularly limited. Further, whilst the nozzle housings/nozzles are shown to be ceiling mounted this need not be the case, they may be otherwise mounted. The mounting arrangement may be varied in dependence on the configuration of the cabin and/or fogger, for example.

With reference to Figure 1, the fogger 100 comprises a main housing 101, which houses a tank (not shown) and a control system (not shown), a pipe network, which comprises a plurality of pipes 102 for distributing the fluid in the tank, and a plurality of nozzle heads 103, which each comprise one or more nozzles, for releasing the fluid in the form of tiny droplets into the air within the cabin. The fluid preferably comprises a virucide. It could, however, contain any desired fluid/chemical composition, such a deodoriser, or otherwise. A pump (not shown) is provided for pressurising the fluid, as will readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The placement of the main housing 101 within the cabin is not limited. It will typically be fitted in a position to render it as unobtrusive as possible. It will preferably be mounted inside the cabin, most preferably in a plant room. It could otherwise be mounted on an outside of the cabin, particularly in the event the system was retrofitted to an existing cabin.

The nozzle heads may take any suitable conventional form and will be positioned as appropriate. They are most preferably ceiling mounted to optimise coverage of the emitted moisture droplets and to limit obtrusion.

Operation of the fogger is automated and is under control of the control system. The fogger may be set to perform a fogging operation at a set time, such as some point during the night when there are unlikely to be any occupants. It may otherwise be set to start with a remote control signal or by operation of a suitable switch to be pushed by a user when leaving the cabin, with the switch mounted inside or outside the cabin. If mounted outside the cabin, the switch will preferably be protected by some form of locking mechanism/lockable cover.

It is preferable that there is a safety system in place to avoid a fogging operation taking place at a time when the cabin is occupied. Accordingly, there is preferably an occupancy monitoring device provided for monitoring occupancy of the cabin, wherein the occupancy monitoring device is connected to the control system and the fogger is controlled in dependence on signals received from the occupancy monitoring device. A signal indicative of the cabin being occupied will prevent the fogger starting. The occupancy monitoring device preferably comprises one or more passive infrared sensors. It may alternatively comprise any other form of sensor that is effective for determining occupancy status.

As part of the safety system, each of the one or more doors for providing access to/from the cabin and is preferably provided with an automatic door lock that is controlled by the control system. The control system locks the door(s) prior to operation of the fogger (following determination of non-occupancy by virtue of the occupancy monitoring device) and maintains the door(s) locked through the fogging operation and for a predetermined period of time after the fogger has been shut off upon completion of fogging. The automatic door lock(s) may comprise electromagnets or otherwise.

With the door lock(s) used in combination with a confirmation of non-occupancy there is a firm safeguard against any ill effects to users of the cabin by virtue of the fogging. The door(s) preferably prevent access to the cabin for an hour immediately following completion of the fogging operation. This time period may be varied in dependence on the chemicals used in the fogging operation. It may be possible to shorten the period to less than an hour or it may be required to extend the period to more than an hour. Each of the one or more doors preferably comprises a door closer for urging the door(s) into a closed position. This avoids an issue where an open door cannot be locked.

The cabin preferably comprises an indicator (not shown) on its outside for notifying a lock status of the automatic door lock. The indicator may comprise a light, a sign that illuminates, an LCD screen providing information, or otherwise.

The cabin may comprise a smoke detector (not shown). In such case, it is preferable that the smoke detector is connected to the control system with the control system configured to disable the smoke detector during operation of the fogger. This prevents false triggering of the smoke alarm by the fogger.

As above, the cabin will preferably comprise a power circuit for powering any devices within the cabin. The power circuit is preferably provided with a shut off mechanism for cutting power to any connected devices and/or power sockets 20 on the power circuit, which shut off mechanism is connected to the control system, whereby the control system can be arranged to automatically shut off the power to electrical devices within the cabin during operation of the fogger. The shut off mechanism may comprise a suitable switch, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Such an automatic shut off mechanism will avoid the risk of damage to electrical equipment within the cabin during fogging.

It is further preferable that a log of fogging operations is automatically generated and maintained. This may, for example, be used to confirm that a cabin has been suitably disinfected. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, numerous and varied means of automatically logging fogging operations may be implemented. For example, the control system may comprise a suitable memory for recording the operation of the fogger. The control system may store the start and end times and date of every fogging operation in the memory. The control system may have a wired or wireless data connection for transmitting the operation data and/or any additional data, such as but not limited to operational status alerts, relating to fluid level or any detected faults. The data may be transmitted to a remote server or any other computing device(s).

Claims

Claims 1. A self-contained cabin, which comprises a fogger and a control system for automatically controlling operation of the fogger.
2. A self-contained cabin as claimed in Claim 1, which comprises an occupancy monitoring device for monitoring occupancy of the cabin, wherein the occupancy monitoring device is connected to the control system and the fogger is controlled in dependence on signals received from the occupancy monitoring device.
3. A self-contained cabin as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the occupancy monitoring device comprises one or more passive infrared sensors.
4. A self-contained cabin as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein the control system prevents operation of the fogger when it is detected that the cabin is occupied.
5. A self-contained cabin as claimed in any preceding claim, which comprises a door for providing access to/from the cabin and an automatic door lock that is controlled by the control system.
6. A self-contained cabin as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the control system locks the door prior to operation of the fogger and maintains the door locked for a predetermined period of time after the fogger has been shut off upon completion of fogging.
7. A self-contained cabin as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the predetermined period is 1 hour.
8. A self-contained cabin as claimed in any of Claims 5 to 7, which comprises an indicator on its outside for notifying a lock status of the automatic door lock.
9. A welfare unit as claimed in any of Claims 5 to 8 further comprising a door closer for urging the door into a closed position.
10. A self-contained cabin as claimed in any preceding claim, which comprises a smoke detector, which is connected to the control system, wherein the control system is configured to disable the smoke detector during operation of the fogger.
11. A self-contained cabin as claimed in any preceding claim, which comprises a power circuit for powering electrical devices within the cabin, the power circuit is provided with a shut off switch for cutting power to any connected devices and/or power sockets on the power circuit, wherein the shut off switch is connected to the control system, and the control system is arranged to shut off the power during operation of the fogger.
12. A self-contained cabin as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fogger comprises a tank for storing a fluid comprising a chemical agent to be dispersed by the fogger, a plurality of nozzles separated from one another about the cabin and supply pipes routed between the tank and the nozzles.
13. A self-contained cabin as claimed in Claim 12, wherein there are a plurality of rooms within the cabin, each of the rooms comprising one or more of the nozzles.
14. A self-contained cabin as claimed in Claim 12 or 13, wherein the nozzles are all mounted to a ceiling of the cabin.
15. A self-contained cabin as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the fogger is configured to disperse a virucide.
16. A self-contained cabin as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control system is arranged to automatically log data relating to the operation of the fogger.
17. A self-contained cabin as claimed in Claim 17, wherein the data comprises 30 the start and end time and date of each fogging operation by the fogger.
18. A self-contained cabin as claimed in Claim 16 or 17, wherein the control system comprises a memory for storing the data.
19. A self-contained cabin as claimed in any of Claims 16 to 18, wherein the control system comprises a wired or wired data link for transmitting the data to a remote computing device.