TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to environmental sanitization techniques generally and more specifically to control systems for UV-light-based sanitization.

BACKGROUND

It is becoming increasingly important to be able to safely and effectively sanitize environments. As experienced during the pandemic related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19), viruses, like other such pathogens, can collect and remain within environments even after a disease carrier has left the environment. Precautionary measures to prevent exposing healthy individuals to pathogens often include various cleaning and sanitization techniques.

Generally, sanitizing an environment requires the evacuation of the environment for a certain length of time, during which the environment is treated, such as with a sanitization fog or ultraviolet (UV) light. If the environment is used repeatedly or continuously for long periods of time, pathogens can build up to dangerous levels. In such environments, current sanitization techniques may require the environment to be shut down for a period of time for cleaning and sanitization, during which time individuals cannot make use of the environment. Depending on the type of environment, the effects of such downtime can range from inconvenience to loss of business and profits, all the way to harm to individuals and loss of life. In some environments where it may be impossible or impractical to completely shut down the environment for cleaning and sanitization, other time consuming and potentially ineffective sanitization techniques (e.g., manually scrubbing and cleaning of surfaces) are the only available techniques.

UV-light-based sanitization involves application of UV light to damage pathogens and deactivate the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and/or ribonucleic acid (RNA) of pathogens. Some common UV-C type UV sanitization lights operate at or around 254 nm. While this frequency may be useful for sanitization, it can also be harmful to humans. The use of UV sanitization techniques can be especially problematic for use in environments that are regularly or frequently occupied, especially with non-routine occupation schedules. Thus, UV sanitization techniques are often limited to application where risk of human exposure is nonexistent, such as sanitizing enclosed chambers or machinery. In one example, UV sanitization can be limited to enclosed chambers in an heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, which may be able to sanitize a unit of air, but cannot sanitize surfaces in the occupied environment. Current UV-light-based sanitization techniques are inadequate for automatically and repeatedly sanitizing large environments, especially environments frequented by humans, such as rooms, elevators, vehicles, and the like. There is a need for a safe and effective way to control UV-light-based sanitization.

SUMMARY

The term embodiment and like terms are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this disclosure and the claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the claims below. Embodiments of the present disclosure covered herein are defined by the claims below, supplemented by this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the disclosure and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all drawings and each claim.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a method comprising: receiving environmental dimension information associated with an environment; receiving environmental expected usage information associated with the environment; receiving light source specification information associated with a light source in the environment, the light source operable to generate Far-UV light; receiving regulatory compliance information associated with the environment; determining light activation settings for activating the light source based on the environmental dimension information, the environmental expected usage information, the light source specification information, and the regulatory compliance information; and activating the light source based on the determined light activation settings.

In some cases, the method further comprises receiving sensor data, wherein determining the light activation settings is further based on the sensor data. In some cases, the sensor data is associated with the environment. In some cases, the sensor data is associated with the light source. In some cases, the method further comprises logging the activation of the light source. In some cases, the method further comprises generating a compliance report based on the logged activation of the light source. In some cases, the method further comprises determining an expected remaining lifespan of the light source, wherein determining the light activation settings is further based on the determined expected remaining lifespan of the light source. In some cases, the method further comprises generating a maintenance prediction alert associated with the light source, wherein generating the maintenance prediction alert is based on the determined expected remaining lifespan of the light source.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a system comprising: a control system including one or more processors; and a memory having stored thereon machine readable instructions; wherein the control system is coupled to the memory, and the method disclosed above is implemented when the machine executable instructions in the memory are executed by at least one of the one or more processors of the control system.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a system for sanitizing an environment, the system including a control system configured to implement the method disclosed above.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method disclosed above. In some cases, the computer program product is a non-transitory computer readable medium.

