JP2020116430A - Sterilization device of door knob or the like using uv ray - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an inexpensive and easily-usable device capable of disinfecting/sterilizing automatically a sterilization target member without depending on manpower, which is a sterilization device in consideration of safety to a human body.SOLUTION: A UV sterilizer for sterilizing by irradiating a UV ray to a sterilization target member includes an LED UV light source for generating a UV ray for sterilization, a detector for generating a signal following approach/separation of a person to/from the UV sterilizer, and a control part for controlling turning on/off of the UV light source, in which the UV light source is controlled by the control part depending on the output of the detector.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a sterilization device such as a doorknob that uses ultraviolet rays.

Toilets used by an unspecified number of people, offices, doorknobs such as convenience stores, and places touched by human hands may be sources of infectious diseases such as norovirus and new coronavirus. Even if a person who has used the toilet in the toilet carefully does the hand washing in the toilet, he/she does not wash his hands when leaving the toilet. Meaning is lost. Alcohol disinfection of the doorknob is an effective sterilizing means, but the disinfection work every time puts a heavy burden on the operator. The transmission of infectious diseases such as Norovirus, O-157, and recently the new coronavirus has become a social problem. Although careful hand washing is recommended to prevent transmission from human hands to hands, not all people do careful hand washing, so doorknobs touched by unspecified number of people are automatically operated. It is desired that the bacteria be sterilized.

In addition, nosocomial infections such as staphylococci have become a problem in hospitals. In order to prevent nosocomial infections, it is necessary to frequently disinfect the hands and equipment of doctors who come into contact with the patient, and to disinfect the doorknobs of rooms where multiple people come and go. Conventionally, in order to disinfect the doorknob, the doorknob is regularly wiped with a cloth containing a disinfectant solution.

As a prior art for keeping the door knob clean, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which a deep-UV light emitter for sterilization is embedded in the door knob. Since there is a need to replace the door knob in order to attach the door knob according to the present invention, there is a problem that the construction cost is generated and the door knob according to the present invention is expensive, and thus it is difficult to spread. Although many sterilizers using ultraviolet LEDs are on the market, a simple sterilizer is desired because the installation site must be prepared and the price is high.

JP-A-7-71143

In order to surely disinfect the doorknob of a door that an unspecified number of people enter and leave, it is necessary to frequently wipe the doorknob, which causes a problem that the burden of the cleaning work is heavy. Although there is an automatic door installed as a solution, the cost burden is large, and it is difficult to make the automatic door in the entrance and exit of a sick room and other private rooms in order to protect the privacy of patients.

Further, a simple sterilization device that can be touched by humans at home is desired. For example, it is also desired to disinfect the inside of a delivery box in which a courier is delivered through the hands of an unspecified person so that bacteria etc. are not brought into the home.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive and easy-to-use device for automatically sterilizing/sterilizing a member to be disinfected without human intervention, and to provide a disinfecting device considering safety to a human body. It is to be. By applying this device to a place touched by human hands, for example, a doorknob, the doorknob can be used automatically without replacing the existing one, and the sterilized/sterilized state of the doorknob can be automatically realized.

The invention according to claim 1 is an ultraviolet sterilizing apparatus for sterilizing by irradiating a member to be sterilized with ultraviolet rays, which comprises: an ultraviolet light source for generating ultraviolet rays for sterilizing; A detector that generates a signal when a person approaches or separates, and a control unit that controls turning on and off of the ultraviolet light source are provided, and the ultraviolet light source is controlled by the control unit according to the output of the detector. It is an ultraviolet sterilization device characterized in that.

The ultraviolet sterilization apparatus of the present invention is an ultraviolet light source that generates ultraviolet rays for sterilization, a detector that generates a signal when a person approaches or separates from the ultraviolet sterilization apparatus, and turns on or off the ultraviolet light source. And a control unit that controls the UV light source by the control unit according to the output of the detector.

In the invention according to claim 2, the detector is a vibration sensor or a moving body sensor, and the control unit turns off the ultraviolet light source in response to an approach signal from the detector accompanying the approach of a person, and The ultraviolet sterilization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on the ultraviolet light source after a predetermined time in response to a separation signal from the detector accompanying the separation.

In the ultraviolet sterilization apparatus of the present invention, the detector is a vibration sensor or a moving body sensor, and the control unit turns off the ultraviolet light source in response to an approach signal from the detector accompanying the approach of a person, and In response to the separation signal from the detector due to the separation, the control unit turns on the ultraviolet light source after a predetermined time, so that the influence of ultraviolet rays on the human body can be suppressed.

In the invention according to claim 3, the ultraviolet light source is a semiconductor light source, and the ultraviolet light emitted from the semiconductor light source is applied to the sterilization target member by an optical system and is directly radiated to the sterilization target member. The ultraviolet sterilization apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein ultraviolet rays other than the above are reflected by the reflection means and are applied to the member to be sterilized.

In the ultraviolet sterilization apparatus of the present invention, the ultraviolet light source is a semiconductor light source, and ultraviolet rays emitted from the semiconductor light source are irradiated to the sterilization target member by an optical system, and the ultraviolet rays are directly irradiated to the sterilization target member. Since the ultraviolet rays other than the above are reflected by the reflecting means and are applied to the member to be sterilized, the device is downsized and the life of the light source can be extended.

In the invention according to claim 4, the ultraviolet sterilization apparatus is divided into a main body part including the control part and the detector, and a light emitting part including the ultraviolet light source, and both are connected by a flexible connecting part. The sterilization apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is characterized by being performed.

The ultraviolet sterilization apparatus of the present invention is divided into a main body section including the control section and the detector, and a light emitting section including the ultraviolet light source, and both are connected by a flexible connection section, so that the apparatus can be mounted. The location can be made flexible.

In the invention according to claim 5, the member to be sterilized is a door knob, and an ultraviolet reflector is provided facing the ultraviolet light source with the door knob interposed therebetween, and the ultraviolet reflector receives the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light source. The sterilizer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the door knob is reflected to irradiate the door knob from a direction opposite to the ultraviolet light source.

In the ultraviolet sterilization apparatus of the present invention, the member to be sterilized is a door knob, an ultraviolet reflector is provided facing the ultraviolet light source with the door knob interposed therebetween, and the ultraviolet reflector emits ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light source. Since the door knob is reflected and irradiates the door knob from the direction opposite to the ultraviolet light source, the door knob of a door where many people come and go can be cleaned.

According to the present invention, sterilization of a member to be sterilized by ultraviolet rays can be simplified.

(A) It is explanatory drawing of the usage type of the isolation|separation type|mold ultraviolet sterilization apparatus concerning this invention, and (B) It is explanatory drawing of the usage type|formula of a separation type|mold ultraviolet sterilization apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a mode that ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the back surface of (A) door knob and (B) inner key. It is an explanatory view of how a person goes in and out of a door. It is explanatory drawing of the dynamic|temporal operation|movement of a sterilization apparatus with the comings and goings of people. It is explanatory drawing of the mechanical structure of a separation type|mold ultraviolet sterilization apparatus. It is an internal block diagram of a separation type|mold ultraviolet sterilization apparatus. It is a circuit diagram of a control unit. FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram of how a human hand touches the door knob, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing at the time of applying an ultraviolet sterilization apparatus to the delivery box with the open door (A) and the delivery box (B).

Light having a wavelength of 100 nm to 400 nm is called ultraviolet light, and ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 280 nm or less is called deep ultraviolet light (UVC ultraviolet light) and has a strong effect of destroying DNA of bacteria and viruses and is suitable for sterilization and sterilization. Most of the disinfection sterilizers using UVC ultraviolet rays use a mercury lamp as a light source and are not suitable for general household use. This is because the UVC band lamp using mercury is powerful, but has a short life because of the lamp and consumes a large amount of power, and thus is not suitable for a simple battery sterilization device. On the other hand, a recent technology has developed a high-performance UV LED that can emit light in the UVC band around 265 nm, which is effective for sterilization. Since the LED has low power consumption and a long life, it has become possible to irradiate by battery drive. Hereinafter, the deep ultraviolet LED is referred to as UVC-LED.

FIG. 1 is an example of application of the ultraviolet sterilization apparatus according to the present invention to a door knob. In FIG. 1(A), from the main body 1 of the detachable mold 10 mounted above the door knob, a light emitting unit 7 is mounted at the end of a connecting unit 5 that can move freely and flexibly change the irradiation position. The doorknob 30 located below the main body 1 is irradiated with the direct light of the ultraviolet light emitted from the UVC-LED of the light emitting unit 7, and the irradiated ultraviolet light disinfects the bacteria existing in the doorknob. Or destroy the virus. Hereinafter, bacterial eradication and virus destruction are collectively referred to as eradication.

FIG. 1B shows an installation method when the main body cannot be attached to the door itself. By attaching the main body to the upper portion or side of the door frame, it is possible to irradiate the door knob from a remote position.

FIG. 2A is an image diagram showing a state of ultraviolet rays applied to the door knob. A concave mirror 50 is attached as a reflector 50 under the door knob. For the back side of the doorknob, which is not directly exposed to the ultraviolet rays from the light source, the leaked ultraviolet rays are reflected by the concave mirror 50, whereby the ultraviolet rays are collected and applied to the backside of the doorknob to be sterilized. Similarly, FIG. 2B shows a state in which ultraviolet rays are radiated to sterilize the inner key 31 of a toilet or the like, and ultraviolet rays are radiated from the lower surface of the inner key 31 by the concave mirror 50 which is a reflector like the door knob.

FIG. 3 shows the entry and exit states of people. A person opens the closed door in the leftmost figure in the second figure. At that time, touch the door knob. In the third figure, the person enters the room and closes the door, leaving the door and leaving the door closed. Since the door vibrates when the door is opened and closed, the vibration is detected by the vibration sensor.

The operation of the ultraviolet sterilization apparatus accompanying a series of movements of a person will be described using a time chart from 0 second to 120 seconds shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the first line of the time chart of FIG. 4 shows the operation of opening the door, and the second line shows the operation of closing the door, so that the person in 0 seconds to 10 seconds and 41 seconds to 50 seconds It shows opening the door and closing the door. The third line shows the output of the vibration sensor, the fourth line shows the operation of the first timer, and the fifth line shows the operation of the second timer. The dark part of the LED controlled by the output of the second timer indicates the lighting of the LED. The ultraviolet sterilizer operates so that the LED is turned off when vibration is detected when a person enters or leaves.

When the opening and closing of the door is detected by, for example, a vibration sensor, it becomes a start signal. The start signal also serves as a command to turn off the LED. When the start signal is detected, the first timer 403 starts, but when the start signal is input again on the way, the initial state is restored again and the time measurement is started. When the start signal does not come for a predetermined time, for example, a waiting time of 3 seconds, it is considered that there is no person and the LED is turned on.

The device is not activated when there are no people in and out. A predetermined time when a person opens the door and enters the inside, for example, 3 seconds later, a timer 2 automatically predefines a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute to 3 minutes). To do. This is repeated thereafter. In this way, the influence of UV irradiation on the human body is prevented as much as possible by the time lag irradiation that detects the entrance/exit of a person and estimates that the person has left the door.

The mechanical structure of the separation type ultraviolet sterilization apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1A will be described with reference to FIG. A battery 2 serving as a power source, a vibration sensor 401, and a timer circuit that operates by receiving a signal from the vibration sensor are housed in a housing 2 of the main body 1 of the ultraviolet sterilization apparatus. The control unit that controls the turning on and off of the ultraviolet light has a vibration sensor and a timer.

The main body portion 1 and the light emitting portion 7 are mechanically and electrically connected by a connecting portion 5 made of a flexible material that moves freely. The connecting portion contains a flexible tube 51 in which a lead wire 22 for driving the LED and a metal or synthetic resin cable 21 for mechanically connecting the main body portion and the light emitting portion are housed. The lower right housing 11 in FIG. 5A is a view of the housing 2 of the main body 1 viewed from below.

FIG. 5B shows the light emitting unit 7 and the ultraviolet reflector 50 placed under the door knob. This reflector reflects the ultraviolet light from the LED of the light emitting unit 7 which is not irradiated with the ultraviolet light and which is not obstructed by the door knob, and irradiates the lower part of the door knob. The light emitting unit shown on the right side of FIG. 5B is a preliminary light emitting unit 71 electrically connected to the main body. The preliminary light emitting portion 71 is connected to the preliminary light emitting portion connecting terminal 8 of the main body portion by the cable 81 for connecting the preliminary light emitting portion, and the turning on and off of the LED built in the preliminary light emitting portion 71 is controlled.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the part which comprises a separation type|mold ultraviolet sterilization apparatus. The main body 1 of the separation type ultraviolet sterilization apparatus 10 includes a battery 3, a timer IC 4, a vibration sensor 401, and a time setting switch 402 that determines a time constant of the timer. Since the IC used this time is an analog type, the voltage change to the threshold input (6th pin) is controlled by the time constant determined by the resistor and the capacitor. The value of the resistor or capacitor that determines the time constant can be changed with a DIP switch. The battery 3 is preferably a rechargeable battery that can be used for one month to several months, and can be used even in a place where commercial power cannot be taken.

The vibration sensor 401 detects vibration transmitted to the door of FIG. 1 due to opening and closing of the door and transmits it to the timer circuit, and the timer circuit starts the timer operation based on the signal. When the output from the vibration sensor 401 is generated within a predetermined time, it is an approach signal indicating that a person is near the door, and when there is no signal from the vibration sensor 401 after the predetermined time, it means that the person is an ultraviolet ray. It becomes a separation signal to separate from the disinfection device.

The light emitting section 7 connected to the main body section 1 by the connecting section 5 is made into approximately parallel light by one to several UVC-LEDs 6 and an optical system 9 that collects ultraviolet rays emitted from these UVC-LEDs 6 and the member to be sterilized. Is irradiated to. For the optical system 9, fluorite (fluorite) or optical quartz glass that transmits ultraviolet rays is used.

FIG. 7 shows a timer circuit. The first timer 403 receives the output of the vibration sensor, starts time measurement, and when the time is up, starts the second timer 404 and turns on the LED for a predetermined time. When a signal from the vibration sensor comes in when the door is opened and closed, it is a proximity signal because a person is near the door. When the signal from the vibration sensor disappears for a predetermined time, the person has left the door, so the second timer 404 starts time measurement and turns on the LED, and the second timer times up after a predetermined time, for example, 3 minutes. Then, the LED is turned off. The output of the vibration sensor is also sent to the second timer and becomes a reset signal for the second timer to forcibly turn off the LED that is lit. The timer may be a digital type and a counter may be rotated.

FIG. 8 shows a case where the approach of a human hand to the door knob is optically detected. The intensity of the reflected light of the detection light such as ultraviolet rays from the door knob made of metal shown in FIG. 8A changes as shown in FIG. The LED drive can be controlled as a signal. Here, infrared light may be used as the detection light. In addition, for approaching/separating a person, an output from a commercially available moving body sensor using infrared rays or ultrasonic waves may be used.

FIG. 9 shows a case where the ultraviolet sterilization device is installed in the delivery box. Place the light emitting parts of the pair of ultraviolet sterilizers on the diagonal line of the delivery box. One is a light emitting unit and the other is a preliminary light emitting unit. FIG. 9(A) shows an empty delivery box, and FIG. 9(B) shows a state in which luggage is contained. By attaching a reflector that reflects ultraviolet rays to each surface of the delivery box, the ultraviolet rays can illuminate the package evenly.

The present invention facilitates sterilization by ultraviolet rays and improves the quality of life of people.

1 Main body 2 Main body case 3 Battery 4 Control unit (vibration sensor)
10 Separation type ultraviolet sterilizer 20 Integrated ultraviolet sterilizer 401 Vibration sensor 402 Irradiation time setting switch 403 First timer 404 Second timer 5 Connection 51 Tube 6 LED
61 Light-receiving part 7 Light-emitting part 71 Preliminary light-emitting part 8 Preliminary light-emitting part connection terminal 81 Preliminary light-emitting part connection cable 9 Optical system 10 Separate type ultraviolet sterilizer 20 Integrated ultraviolet sterilizer 30 Doorknob 31 Internal key 40 Ultraviolet 50 Ultraviolet reflection Container 100 delivery box

Claims (5)

An ultraviolet sterilizer for sterilizing by irradiating the member to be sterilized with ultraviolet light
An ultraviolet light source that emits ultraviolet light for disinfection,
A detector that generates a signal when a person approaches or separates from the ultraviolet sterilizer,
A control unit that controls turning on and off of the ultraviolet light source,
An ultraviolet sterilization apparatus, wherein the ultraviolet light source is controlled by the control unit according to the output of the detector. The detector is a vibration sensor or a moving body sensor, the control unit turns off the ultraviolet light source in response to an approach signal from the detector when a person approaches, and a distance from the detector when a person separates. The ultraviolet sterilization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit turns on the ultraviolet light source after a predetermined time in response to a signal. The ultraviolet light source is a semiconductor light source, ultraviolet rays emitted from the semiconductor light source is irradiated to the sterilization target member by an optical system, and ultraviolet rays other than the ultraviolet rays directly radiated to the sterilization target member are reflected by a reflecting means. The ultraviolet sterilization apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the member to be sterilized is irradiated. The ultraviolet sterilizing apparatus is divided into a main body section including the control section and the detector, and a light emitting section including the ultraviolet light source, and both are connected by a flexible connection section. The sterilization apparatus according to any one of 1 to 3. The member to be disinfected is a door knob, an ultraviolet reflector is provided facing the ultraviolet light source with the door knob interposed therebetween, and the ultraviolet reflector reflects the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light source to move the door knob to the ultraviolet light source. The sterilizer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the door knob is irradiated from the opposite direction.