IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,280,161
Granted Patent B2
US 12,280,161 · App. 17/186,832 · Granted Apr 22, 2025

Luminaire with disinfection light exposure and dosage limit control protocol and sensor integration with height controller

Inventors: Yan Rodriguez (Suwanee, GA); Jack C. Rains, Jr. (Sarasota, FL); David P. Ramer (Reston, VA)
Assignee: ABL IP HOLDING LLC
A61L2/10G06T7/50G06V40/10A61L2202/11A61L2202/14
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,280,161
App. No.
17/186,832
Granted
Apr 22, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A luminaire includes a luminaire control circuit and a disinfection light source to emit a disinfection light in an ultraviolet (UV) band for disinfecting a vicinity of a physical space of a target pathogen that is exposed to the disinfection light. The UV band is 200 nanometers (nm) to 230 nm wavelength. The luminaire receives a control signal based on at least the mounting height of the luminaire. The luminaire adjusts a UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal. The luminaire controls, via a driver circuit, the disinfection light source over a dose cycle to emit the disinfection light continuously or during the plurality of periods for disinfecting the vicinity to substantially obtain the target pathogen UV radiation level and restrict the total UV radiation threshold exposure level by the adjusted UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal.

Claims (93)

1. A luminaire, comprising:

a disinfection light source to emit a disinfection light in an ultraviolet (UV) band for disinfecting a vicinity of a physical space of a target pathogen that is exposed to the disinfection light, the UV band being 200 nanometers (nm) to 230 nm wavelength;

a driver circuit coupled to control the disinfection light source to control light source operation of the disinfection light source;

a luminaire control circuit including:

a luminaire processor coupled to the driver circuit and configured to control the disinfection light source via the driver circuit;

a luminaire memory accessible to the luminaire processor and including:

a control signal to control emission of the disinfection light in the UV band for disinfecting the vicinity of the physical space of the target pathogen, wherein the control signal is based on at least a mounting height of the luminaire,

a UV radiation threshold limit for safe exposure of a human to the UV band over a predetermined dose period in response to the control signal based on at least the mounting height of the luminaire,

a total UV radiation threshold exposure level over a dose cycle of the vicinity, the dose cycle corresponding to the predetermined dose period or being a fraction thereof, and

a target pathogen UV radiation level that is sufficient to deactivate the target pathogen in the vicinity over the predetermined dose period based on at least the mounting height of the luminaire; and

exposure and dosage control programming in the luminaire memory, wherein execution of the exposure and dosage control programming by the luminaire processor configures the luminaire to perform functions, including functions to:

receive the control signal based on at least the mounting height of the luminaire;

in response to receiving the control signal, adjust the UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal; and

control, via the driver circuit, the disinfection light source over the dose cycle to emit the disinfection light continuously or during a plurality of periods for disinfecting the vicinity to substantially obtain the target pathogen UV radiation level and restrict the total UV radiation threshold exposure level by the adjusted UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal.

2. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the mounting height corresponds to a distance of the disinfection light source from a selected surface or selected air in the vicinity of the physical space of the target pathogen that is exposed to the disinfection light.

3. The luminaire of claim 1 , wherein the luminaire includes a height controller to generate the control signal based on at least the mounting height of the luminaire.

4. The luminaire of claim 3 , wherein:

the height controller is a range finding sensor;

the luminaire further includes range finding sensor programming in the luminaire memory; and

execution of the range finding sensor programming by the luminaire processor configures the luminaire to perform functions, including functions to:

detect, after installation of the luminaire or during commissioning or normal operation of the luminaire, a mounting height sensing signal that indicates the mounting height of the luminaire, and

generate the control signal to control emission of the disinfection light in the UV band for disinfecting the vicinity of the physical space of the target pathogen, based on at least the detected mounting height sensing signal that indicates the mounting height of the luminaire.

5. The luminaire of claim 4 , wherein:

the exposure and dosage control programming function to adjust the UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal includes to:

adjust the UV radiation threshold limit for safe exposure of the human to the UV band over the predetermined dose period based on at least the mounting height sensing signal that indicates the mounting height of the luminaire.

6. The luminaire of claim 5 , wherein:

the luminaire memory further includes a mounting height lookup table of a plurality of UV radiation threshold limits and a plurality of mounting heights, wherein a respective UV radiation threshold limit is associated with a respective mounting height; and

the function to adjust the UV radiation threshold limit for safe exposure of the human to the UV band over the predetermined dose period based on at least the mounting height sensing signal that indicates the mounting height of the luminaire is based on the mounting height lookup table.

7. The luminaire of claim 6 , wherein:

execution of the range finding sensor programming by the luminaire processor further configures the luminaire to perform functions, including functions to:

detect, after installation of the luminaire or during commissioning or normal operation of the luminaire, a human height sensing signal that indicates a stature of the human present in the vicinity; and

generate the control signal to control emission of the disinfection light in the UV band for disinfecting the vicinity of the physical space of the target pathogen, further based on at least the detected human height sensing signal that indicates the stature of the human.

8. The luminaire of claim 7 , wherein:

the exposure and dosage control programming function to adjust the UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal further includes to:

adjust the UV radiation threshold limit for safe exposure of the human to the UV band over the predetermined dose period further based on of the human height sensing signal that indicates the stature of the human.

9. An antimicrobial system, comprising:

a height controller to generate a control signal to control emission of a disinfection light in an ultraviolet (UV) band for disinfecting a vicinity of a physical space of a target pathogen, wherein the control signal is based on at least a mounting height of a luminaire;

a luminaire including or coupled to the height controller, the luminaire comprising:

a disinfection light source to emit the disinfection light in the UV band for disinfecting the vicinity of the physical space of the target pathogen that is exposed to the disinfection light, the UV band being between 200 nanometers (nm) to 230 nm;

a driver circuit coupled to control the disinfection light source to control light source operation of the disinfection light source;

a luminaire control circuit including:

a luminaire processor coupled to the driver circuit and configured to control the disinfection light source via the driver circuit;

a luminaire memory accessible to the luminaire processor and including:

a UV radiation threshold limit for safe exposure of a human to the UV band over a predetermined dose period based on at least the mounting height of the luminaire,

a total UV radiation threshold exposure level over a dose cycle of the vicinity, the dose cycle corresponding to the predetermined dose period or being a fraction or multiple thereof, and

a target pathogen UV radiation level that is sufficient to reduce the target pathogen by a desired amount in the vicinity over the predetermined dose period based on at least the mounting height of the luminaire; and

exposure and dosage control programming in the luminaire memory, wherein execution of the exposure and dosage control programming by the luminaire processor configures the luminaire to perform functions, including functions to:

receive the control signal based on at least the mounting height of the luminaire from the height controller;

in response to receiving the control signal, adjust the UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal; and

control, via the driver circuit, the disinfection light source over the dose cycle to emit the disinfection light continuously or during a plurality of periods for disinfecting the vicinity to substantially obtain the target pathogen UV radiation level and restrict the total UV radiation threshold exposure level by the adjusted UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal.

10. The antimicrobial system of claim 9 , wherein the mounting height corresponds to a distance of the disinfection light source from a selected surface or selected air in the vicinity of the physical space of the target pathogen that is exposed to the disinfection light.

11. The antimicrobial system of claim 9 , wherein:

the height controller is a standalone device separate from the luminaire or integrated with the luminaire.

12. The antimicrobial system of claim 9 , wherein:

the height controller is a range finding sensor; and

the range finding sensor includes a range finding sensor circuit, the range finding sensor circuit including:

a range finding sensor processor;

a range finding sensor memory accessible to the range finding sensor processor; and

range finding sensor programming in the range finding sensor memory, wherein execution of the range finding sensor programming by the range finding sensor processor configures the range finding sensor to perform functions, including functions to:

detect, after installation of the luminaire or during commissioning or normal operation of the luminaire, a mounting height sensing signal that indicates the mounting height of the luminaire, and

generate the control signal to control emission of the disinfection light in the UV band for disinfecting the vicinity of the physical space of the target pathogen, based on at least the detected mounting height sensing signal that indicates the mounting height of the luminaire.

13. The antimicrobial system of claim 12 , wherein the range finding sensor includes a camera-based sensor, an infrared sensor, a radar sensor, a LIDAR sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, other time-of-flight (ToF) sensor, or a combination thereof.

14. The antimicrobial system of claim 12 , wherein:

the exposure and dosage control programming function to adjust the UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal includes to:

adjust the UV radiation threshold limit for safe exposure of the human to the UV band over the predetermined dose period based on at least the mounting height sensing signal that indicates the mounting height of the luminaire.

15. The antimicrobial system of claim 14 , wherein:

the luminaire memory includes a mounting height lookup table of a plurality of UV radiation threshold limits and a plurality of mounting heights, wherein a respective UV radiation threshold limit is associated with a respective mounting height; and

the function to adjust the UV radiation threshold limit for safe exposure of the human to the UV band over the predetermined dose period based on at least the mounting height sensing signal that indicates the mounting height of the luminaire is based on the mounting height lookup table.

16. The antimicrobial system of claim 15 , wherein:

execution of the range finding sensor programming by the range finding sensor processor configures the range finding sensor to perform functions, including functions to:

detect, after installation of the luminaire or during commissioning or normal operation of the luminaire, a human height sensing signal that indicates a stature of the human present in the vicinity; and

generate the control signal to control emission of the disinfection light in the UV band for disinfecting the vicinity of the physical space of the target pathogen, further based on at least the detected human height sensing signal that indicates the stature of the human.

17. The antimicrobial system of claim 16 , wherein:

the exposure and dosage control programming function to adjust the UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal further includes to:

adjust the UV radiation threshold limit for safe exposure of the human to the UV band over the predetermined dose period further based on of the human height sensing signal that indicates the stature of the human.

18. The antimicrobial system of claim 9 , wherein:

the height controller includes a dip switch or a jumper pin to manually input the mounting height for generation of the control signal.

19. The antimicrobial system of claim 9 , wherein:

the height controller is a disinfection light control device;

the disinfection light control device is a wall switch or a touch screen device; and

the disinfection light control device includes:

a disinfection light control device processor;

a disinfection light control device memory accessible to the disinfection light control device processor; and

disinfection light control device programming in the disinfection light control device memory, wherein execution of the disinfection light control device programming by the disinfection light control device processor configures the disinfection light control device to perform functions, including functions to:

input, after installation of the luminaire or during commissioning or normal operation of the luminaire, the mounting height of the luminaire; and

generate the control signal to control emission of the disinfection light in the UV band for disinfecting the vicinity of the physical space of the target pathogen, based on at least the inputted mounting height of the luminaire.

20. The antimicrobial system of claim 9 , wherein:

the exposure and dosage control programming function to adjust the UV radiation threshold limit based on the control signal is further based on:

(i) a first sensing signal from a detector indicating that the human is not present in the vicinity;

(ii) a second sensing signal from a pathogen sensor indicating that the target pathogen is present in the vicinity;

(iii) a mounting height switch signal responsive to a wall switch or a touch screen device;

(iv) a time of day for disinfection of the vicinity; or

(v) a combination thereof.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 12, 2021
From: RODRIGUEZ, YAN; RAINS, JACK C., JR.; RAMER, DAVID P.
To: ABL IP HOLDING LLC
Reel/Frame 055575/0400 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation In Part 17005971 · Aug 28, 2020
Related Publication 20220062468A1 · Mar 3, 2022
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