Granted Patent B2

US 12,186,438 · App. 17/225,541 · Granted Jan 7, 2025

Inventor: Brant Candelore (San Diego, CA)

Assignee: SONY GROUP CORPORATION

A61L2/10A61L2/26A61L2202/11A61L2202/20

Abstract

Claims (55)

1. An electronic apparatus, comprising:

circuitry communicably coupled with an ultraviolet light source, wherein

the ultraviolet light source is on a motorized mechanism, and

the circuitry is configured to:

acquire information associated with a first object located in a first physical space, wherein the information relates to at least one of: a location of the first object in the first physical space, a distance between the first object and the ultraviolet light source, or an angular orientation of the first object with respect to the ultraviolet light source;

determine, based on the acquired information, one or more control parameters for the ultraviolet light source to disinfect the first object, wherein the one or more control parameters relate to at least one of: an amount of time for emission of an ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet light source, a wavelength of the emitted ultraviolet light, or an inclination of the ultraviolet light source;

control, based on the determined one or more control parameters, the ultraviolet light source to disinfect the first object; and

control the motorized mechanism to change the inclination of the ultraviolet light source, wherein the control of the motorized mechanism is based on the acquired information related to the angular orientation of the first object with respect to the ultraviolet light source.

2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the circuitry is further communicably coupled with a visible light source, and

the circuitry is further configured to:

control an intensity of the ultraviolet light source based on the distance between the first object and the ultraviolet light source;

control the ultraviolet light source to emit the ultraviolet light at the controlled intensity for the amount of time;

control the ultraviolet light source to switch off upon completion of the amount of time; and

control the visible light source to illuminate the disinfected first object in the first physical space.

3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein

the ultraviolet light source is a first bulb,

the visible light source is a second bulb, and

the first bulb and the second bulb are held by a dual fixture.

4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the ultraviolet light source and the visible light source are in a single bulb.

5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

control the ultraviolet light source to switch off based on a detection of an animate object as the first object; and

control the visible light source to illuminate the first object detected as the animate object in the first physical space.

6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

detect a second object, as an animate object, in the first physical space, wherein the second object accesses the first physical space from a second physical space; and

notify the second object about the disinfection of the first object, wherein the notification comprises at least one of: a pulsed illumination of a lighting device associated with the electronic apparatus or with the ultraviolet light source, or an audible alert for the second object.

7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

control the ultraviolet light source to switch off based on the detection of the second object in the first physical space; and

control a visible light source, that is communicably coupled with the circuitry, to illuminate the disinfected first object for the second object in the first physical space, wherein the disinfected first object is different from the second object.

8. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the circuitry is communicably coupled with at least one sensor to acquire the information associated with a second object in the first physical space, and

the circuitry is further configured to:

control the at least one sensor to detect the first object in the first physical space; and

determine the information associated with the second object based on the detected first object within the first physical space.

9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the acquired information further indicates a set of objects including the first object in the first physical space, and

the circuitry is further configured to:

determine a type of each object in the set of objects based on the acquired information in the first physical space;

determine the one or more control parameters for each object based on the determined type; and

control the ultraviolet light source to disinfect each object in the set of objects based on the determined one or more control parameters for each object in the first physical space.

10. The electronic apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

determine a level of priority of disinfection for each object in the set of objects based on the determined type of each object in the first physical space; and

control the ultraviolet light source to disinfect each object in the set of objects based on the determined level of priority of the disinfection for each object in the first physical space.

11. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the ultraviolet light emitted by the ultraviolet light source is a focused spot-beam.

12. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more control parameters that relate to at least one of: an intensity of the ultraviolet light, the wavelength of the ultraviolet light, or the amount of time for the emission of the ultraviolet light, are directly proportional to the information associated with the distance between the first object and the ultraviolet light source.

13. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the acquired information associated with the first object further comprises a refractive index of the first object, and

based on the refractive index of the first object, the circuitry is further configured to control the one or more control parameters for the ultraviolet light source to disinfect the first object.

14. An electronic apparatus, comprising:

circuitry communicably coupled with an ultraviolet light source, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

acquire information associated with a first object located in a first physical space, wherein the information relates to at least one of: a location of the first object in the first physical space, a distance between the first object and the ultraviolet light source, or an angular orientation of the first object with respect to the ultraviolet light source;

determine, based on the acquired information, one or more control parameters for the ultraviolet light source to disinfect the first object, wherein the one or more control parameters relate to at least one of: an amount of time for emission of an ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet light source, a wavelength of the emitted ultraviolet light, or an inclination of the emitted ultraviolet light;

control, based on the determined one or more control parameters, the ultraviolet light source to disinfect the first object;

detect a second object, as an animate object, in the first physical space, wherein the second object accesses the first physical space from a second physical space; and

notify the second object about the disinfection of the first object, wherein the notification comprises at least one of: a pulsed illumination of a lighting device associated with the electronic apparatus or with the ultraviolet light source, or an audible alert for the second object.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (14)