UV emitter and controller for disinfection of spaces

1 . A method for configuring a disinfection apparatus, the disinfection apparatus secured to a fixed surface within a room or an interior of a vehicle, the disinfection apparatus comprising a UV emitter, the method comprising:

a) selecting a first object within the room or vehicle interior for disinfection;

b) positioning a first UV sensor proximate the first object;

c) measuring a background UV irradiance by using the UV sensor;

d) operating a controller communicably coupled to the UV emitter and the first UV sensor, the controller comprising a processor operable to respond to computer-readable instructions stored in memory, by:

(i) turning the UV emitter on to cause an emission of UV light within the room or vehicle interior;

(ii) measuring a time that is taken for the first UV sensor to detect a UV dose equal to a threshold dose, wherein the background UV radiance is subtracted from the UV dose;

(iii) automatically turning off the UV emitter when the threshold dose is reached;

(iv) creating a first disinfection program by storing the time taken in a memory in association with an identifier for the first object;

e) repeating steps (a) to (d) to create a second disinfection program corresponding to a second object within the room or vehicle interior;

f) completing the configuration by removing the first UV sensor from the room or vehicle interior;

g) selecting the first disinfection program or the second disinfection program; and

h) responsive to the selecting, automatically turning on the UV emitter for an amount of time specified by the selected disinfection program.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the controller is located remotely from the UV emitter, and step d) (iv) includes transmitting the time taken to the controller.

3 . The method of claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein step b) comprises arranging a plurality of UV sensors proximate the first object, the first UV sensor being one of the plurality of UV sensors;

wherein step d) (ii) further comprises:

measuring a respective plurality of times taken for each of the plurality of UV sensors to measure a cumulative UV irradiance equal to the threshold value;

calculating a longest time of the plurality of times;

and wherein step d) (iv) comprises storing the longest time in the memory.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the method further comprises, subtracting the background irradiance from the cumulative UV irradiance.

5 . The method of claim 1 or 2 , wherein the first object comprises a wall and/or floor of the room or vehicle interior.

6 . A method for disinfecting an object in a room or vehicle interior using a disinfection apparatus secured to a fixed surface within the room or vehicle interior and comprising a UV emitter, the method comprising:

configuring the disinfection apparatus by:

a) selecting a first object within the room or vehicle interior for disinfection;

b) arranging a first UV sensor proximate the first object;

c) measuring a background UV irradiance by using the first UV sensor;

d) operating a controller communicably coupled to the UV emitter and the first UV sensor, the controller comprising a processor operable to respond to computer-readable instructions stored in memory, by:

(i) turning the UV emitter on to cause an emission of UV light within the room or vehicle interior;

(ii) measuring a time that is taken for the first UV sensor to detect a UV dose equal to a threshold dose, wherein the background UV radiance is subtracted from the UV dose;

(iii) automatically turning off the UV emitter when the threshold dose is reached;

(iv) creating a first disinfection program by storing the time taken in a memory in association with an identifier for the first object;

e) repeating steps (a) to (d) to create a second disinfection program corresponding to a second object within the room or vehicle interior;

f) completing the configuration by removing the first UV sensor from the room or vehicle interior; and

g) initiating a decontamination cycle to disinfect at least the first object in the room or vehicle interior by:

i) selecting either the first of the second disinfection program using a user interface of the controller coupled to the disinfection apparatus and to the memory; and

ii) responsive to the selecting, automatically turning the UV emitter on for an amount of time specified by the disinfection program.

7 . A system for disinfecting a room or vehicle interior, the system comprising:

a UV emitter secured to a fixed surface within the room or vehicle interior;

a controller located remotely from the UV emitter; and

a UV sensor configured to measure a background UV irradiance;

wherein the controller comprises a processor and a memory, the memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:

transmit a control signal to the UV emitter to cause the UV emitter to turn on;

determine a time taken for the UV sensor to measure a UV dose equal to a threshold dose wherein the background UV radiance is subtracted from the UV dose;

automatically turn off the UV emitter when the threshold dose is reached; and

create a first disinfection program by storing the time taken in the memory in association with an identifier for a first object located proximate the UV sensor based on the time taken for the first UV sensor to detect a UV dose equal to a threshold dose, the disinfection program operable to disinfect the room or vehicle interior;

create a second disinfection program by storing the time taken in the memory in association with an identifier for a second object located proximate the UV sensor based on the time taken for the first UV sensor to detect a UV dose equal to a threshold dose, the disinfection program operable to disinfect the room or vehicle interior:

wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause the processor to:

receive a selection of either the first or the second disinfection program via a user interface of the controller; and

transmit a control signal to the UV emitter to cause the UV emitter to turn on for a time equal to the time taken as stored in the memory.