Patent Application
20250186637
About half of all colds are caused by rhinoviruses. A study conducted in hotel rooms by the University of Virginia, USA, showed that the pathogens were still contagious on door handles, TV remotes and light switches, among other things, at least a day later. According to the British health authority NHS, rhinoviruses are even still infectious outside the body for up to seven days. According to a research group at the University Hospital of Geneva, a large accumulation of influenza A viruses on a banknote can remain active for up to 17 days. According to the Journal of Infectious Disease, the pathogens survive on smooth plastic surfaces for about 48 hours. The novel coronavirus 2019-nCov can even remain contagious outside the body for up to 9 days. Thus, a person can readily be infected via an object contaminated several days earlier by an infected person.
Ultraviolet C radiation (UVC) is the germicidal region of the ultraviolet spectrum with a wavelength in the range of 280 to 100 nm. UV Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) has been studied for over a century. The effects of UVGI on common bacteria, viruses, and mold spores are well known. Since the mid-20th century, disinfection by UVGI has been accepted practice, primarily in medical hygiene and sterile work areas, and more recently it has been used to sterilize drinking water and wastewater or in air purifiers. Basically, applications of UVC irradiation fall into two categories: Surface disinfection and air stream disinfection. In surface disinfection, UVC radiation is applied to wall or chamber surfaces, as well as to surfaces of manufactured samples. As long as the surfaces to be disinfected are in the line of sight of the lamp, disinfection can be achieved within a few minutes by means of UVC exposure, depending on the dose. Whole room sanitizers offer this germicidal control for walls, ceilings and floors of laboratories, clean rooms or other production areas.
In the state of the art, UVC sanitizers are known for glove boxes, insulators and hoods. However, what significantly limits the applicability of germicidal UVC irradiation is the need for direct exposure. If the UVC source is too far away or moved out of the direct line of sight, or if the exposure time is too short, this is associated with reduced efficacy. Another issue relates to material degradation as a result of UVC exposure over a long period of time. Although UVC radiation is not harmful to most materials in a laboratory or cleanroom, including metals, painted surfaces and most plastics, elastomers and paper-based products age prematurely under the influence of UVC irradiation. Another issue is the harmfulness of UVC radiation to humans. The light can cause sunburn and over time even skin cancer on the skin at the appropriate intensity, and also lead to very painful inflammation of the eye cornea, up to permanent sea disorders. For this reason, UVC radiation produced by a germicidal lamp should be shielded so that it cannot directly strike human skin and a person cannot look directly into the UVC light. Source:
Accordingly, the everyday use of UVC lamps for disinfection is restricted.
Although small housing sizes allow effective UVC irradiation with lamps of lower power and shorter cycle times. In as little as about 30 seconds, surfaces of everyday objects can be rendered virtually germ-free from a UVC sanitizer. Because standard glass and many plastics, including acrylic, PVC and polycarbonate, effectively shield against UVC, UVC lamps can be safely integrated without endangering a nearby person (source:
However, for practical reasons, one will not carry such a UVC sanitizer on the go. The disinfection of objects to be touched, however, is particularly important when there is no immediate opportunity to wash and disinfect hands.
The most common situation that makes disinfection desirable is everyday card payments. The increasing proportion of card payments has also increased security requirements. Contactless payment is only possible up to a certain maximum amount per payment, as well as a maximum amount over several uses. Afterwards, a new PIN entry is required (according to Payment Services Directive (EU) 2015/2366). Thus, in everyday life, it is often not possible to avoid direct contact with a card reader. A fortiori, there is a great need for protection against disinfection for people who have the contactless function deactivated on their payment cards for security reasons, and therefore have to enter a PIN code manually for every single card payment. This applies analogously to other payment cards, such as parking cards, which require contact with the card reader. And with each direct contact, germs from the user remain on the input field of the card reader. Because the card readers are continuously operated and thus touched by many different people, they are veritable hotbeds of germs.
In view of the considerable need for disinfection in everyday life—as has recently become apparent as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak—the object of the present invention is to disclose a device for the surface disinfection of the input field of card readers for credit cards, subscriptions and payment cards of all kinds, which makes it possible to process card payments largely free of germs. The invention is intended to make such disinfection quick and easy and to be adaptable to any need.
The task is solved by a device for surface disinfection as described herein.
With reference to the figures, the device and the method carried out with it are described and explained.
It shows:
To ensure that the paying person is not harmed by the process of UVC exposure, the irradiation is consistently shielded, effectively preventing direct contact with human skin or the human eye. For this purpose, the area of the card reader 1 to be irradiated is shielded by a housing 4 before each UVC exposure. The irradiation then takes place in the all-around closed state of the keypad of the card reader 1. When the process of irradiation is completed, the housing 4 releases the keypad or input field 2 and the display 3. The housing 4 is arranged here to pivot about an axis 7 relative to the card reader 1, and an associated actuating device can pivot the housing 4 up to this open pivoted position shown, and down again if required. After the housing 4 has been swung down onto the card reader 1, the latter lies in such a way that the area to be irradiated is covered by the housing 4 and enclosed in such a way that direct contact of the skin and eyes of a user with the UVC radiation is prevented. In the embodiment shown in
The swiveling up and down of the housing 4 can be realized, for example, with a solenoid. In the basic state, the pivotable housing 4 is pivoted shut against the force of a pivot spring. Each time the housing 4 is swung shut, the housing 4 latches onto the unit in the swung-down position and the UVC radiation is immediately activated in this secured position. In an advantageous variant, each time the housing 4 is swung shut, an indicator light 9 on the housing 4 switches to red light. The card reader 1 is out of operation while the indicator light 9 is illuminated. Alternative control indicators may also be incorporated, such as a display indicating in the respective language or with understandable symbols that the device is being disinfected or is already available for use again. The housing 4 of the device may also swing open and closed purely by electric motor.
In another embodiment of the device, the housing 4 has a recess which, in its swung closed state, leaves the area of the receiving slot 8 free for the input of a card 5. If a credit card 5 is pushed into the receiving slot 8 in an embodiment of the device with control light 9, there are two possibilities: Either the irradiation is still in progress, which is indicated by a control light 9 in red, or the irradiation period has expired, which is indicated by the control light 9 in green. In the latter case, the housing 4 is immediately swung open by an internal electronic circuit and the input field 2 is exposed for use. As soon as the credit card 5 is pulled out of the slot 8 again, the control light changes to red and the device is deactivated for use by the internal electronic circuit. First, the housing 4 must be swung shut, which can be done either manually against the force of a spring on the hinge of the swivel axis 7 until it locks in the swung-down position, or by electric motor. The disinfection process is triggered by the engagement or snapping of the housing 4 on the card reader 1 via the electronic circuit. When the irradiation period has expired, for example after about 30 seconds, the housing 4 swings open, either by virtue of a spring on the hinge of the swivel axis 7, after which a pawl is retracted by, for example, a solenoid or a swivel lever, or by electric motor, in both cases triggered by the electronic circuitry inside. The control lamp 9 changes to green when the unit is swiveled open. The unit is ready to accept the next credit card 5, and especially to use the newly disinfected input field 2. Otherwise, when a card 5 is inserted into the slot 8 under the red light, the housing 4 remains swung shut until the irradiation period has expired. Thereafter, the housing 4 immediately swings upward to reveal the contact field. Each time a card 5 is pulled out of the receiving slot 8, the red indicator lamp 9 lights up to indicate that the keypad is unusable or does not respond to inputs. First, the housing 4 must be swung down, either manually or triggered by an electric motor. And as soon as it is swung down and locked in place, a new disinfection cycle begins while the indicator lamp 9 lights up red. This changes to green as soon as the disinfection cycle is completed. The housing 4 then remains swiveled shut until a next payment card 5 is inserted into the device, whereupon it opens immediately and releases the previously disinfected input field 2. As a result of the closed state of the housing 4, germs are prevented from accumulating again in the time period between the last use of the card reader 1 and the next use. The device is therefore always in a disinfected state, indicated by a green light, and does not need to be UVC-irradiated before being used again.
The swinging up and down of the housing 4 can be done by electric motor, which is particularly suitable for devices that are operated with a stationary power connection, for example card readers 1 in all kinds of sales stores. In this case, a small electric motor may be used, with the swinging up and down of the housing 4 being terminated by limit switches. In one possible embodiment, the electronic control reacts with an optical light barrier inside the slot 8, but an optical light barrier can also run outside the device, for example along or across the slot 8 and just in front of it. As soon as a card 5 is pulled out of the slot 8, the light barrier closes again and the housing 4 is subsequently swung shut. In a device with a control lamp 9, this switches to red and a disinfection cycle starts. As soon as the disinfection cycle is completed, the control lamp 9—controlled by the electronic built-in control unit-turns green and indicates that the card reader 1 is ready for use again. When a card 5 is inserted into the slot 8, the light barrier is interrupted and the housing 4 swings open to reveal the input field 2 for operation of the keys or touch screen. When an input has been made and the user is prompted on the display 3 to remove the card 5 and subsequently removes the card 5, the housing 4 swings down and closes the contact field. The control lamp 9 jumps back to red. A new disinfection cycle begins and when it is completed, the control lamp jumps from red to green. The initial state is reached.
The housing 4 can be opened by means of a spring force and closed manually against the same. This proves particularly useful for mobile card readers 1, such as those frequently used in the catering industry. In this case, it is also advantageous that the housing 4 has a recess which, when swung shut or closed, leaves the receiving slot 8 for a credit card 5 free. In the closed state, the housing 4 latches onto a holding device and is secured with a latch. However, a holding device can also be implemented magnetically or otherwise. A solenoid built into the bottom of the housing reacts to the insertion of a card 5. If no disinfection is in progress, which is indicated in green in an embodiment with a control lamp 9, in the mechanical embodiment with a latch the solenoid pulls back this latch and the housing 4 swings open about the axis 7 by virtue of the spring built into the hinge area. The entry can be made on the now released disinfected entry field 2 and after the card 5 has been pulled out, the person checking in swivels the housing 4 manually closed, against the acting spring force, until the housing 4 snaps back into place at the latch. A control lamp 9 immediately switches to red and a disinfection process starts. After the disinfection process has been completed, the indicator lamp 9 switches to green and the card reader 1 is ready for the next insertion of a payment card 5. As soon as one is inserted, the housing 4 pops open to reveal the disinfected input field 2.
This device can also be designed as an adapter for retrofitting existing card readers 1. Such a retrofit unit is shown in
However, the device does not require an almost entirely shielding housing 4 as shown in
The device may have a power connection 6 and/or be battery powered. In this regard, the device can communicate with a central system unit via the cable 6 or else wirelessly, via which changes in the settings can be made, such as a shorter or longer irradiation interval. Alternatively, such settings can also be made directly on an individual device, for example via a smartphone app. Where possible, sensors are connected to the device and/or to the central system unit that detects a number of people waiting. Alternatively, the frequency of card payments is recorded. Depending on the rush or frequency of use, the duration of the irradiation intervals is adjusted, i.e. if there is a large rush and frequency, the irradiation interval is shorter or the UVC irradiation is switched off completely, for example if a large queue is still formed in front of a checkout shortly before closing time. Preferably, the device has an abort button that allows a user to stop the irradiation process immediately, for example if he is pressed for time and cannot wait until the end of a disinfection process that has not yet been completed before making his payment. Such also proves to be convenient if a wrong card 5 is accidentally inserted into the card reader 1 and immediately removed. The disinfection cycle triggered by the removal of the wrong card 5 can then be immediately terminated by means of the cancel button, allowing the user to make the payment immediately with the correct card 5. The card reader 1 also does not necessarily need to stop its functionality during the irradiation process.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00666/20 | Jun 2020 | CH | national |
This application is the United States national phase of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/060755 filed Apr. 23, 2021, and claims priority to Swiss Patent Application No. 00666/20 filed Jun. 4, 2020, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2021/060755 | 4/23/2021 | WO |
