Patent Application
20230381353
The present disclosure is directed to the field of sanitation. More particularly, the disclosure relates to systems and methods for sanitizing a person's shoes.
Infection control through sanitization has become increasingly important in hospital and other clinical settings given the increase in serious nosocomial infections such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Sanitization protocols and methods to date have not been adequate for preventing nosocomial infections or contamination in other settings, such as manufacturing or food and beverage processing.
In general, in a first aspect, the disclosure features a sanitization system. The sanitization system includes a grate designed to be stood upon by a user during use of the sanitization system, a first sanitization modality including UV light, and a second sanitization modality chosen from modalities including UV light, disinfectant solutions or liquids, and their combination. When the user stands upon the grate during use, the first sanitization modality is configured to sanitize the top and sides of the user's shoes, and the second sanitization modality is configured to sanitize the bottom of the user's shoes.
In general, in a second aspect, the disclosure features a sanitization kiosk. The sanitization kiosk includes a kiosk body, a user interface disposed at a top end of the kiosk body, a chamber disposed at a bottom end of the kiosk body, a grate covering the top of the chamber, a first sanitization modality including one or more UV lights disposed on the kiosk body above the grate, and a second sanitization modality chosen from modalities including one or more UV lights, disinfectant solutions or liquids, and their combination disposed within the chamber.
In general, in a third aspect, the disclosure features a sanitization station. The sanitization station includes a user interface, a grate disposed below the user interface, a first sanitization modality including one or more UV lights disposed above the grate, and a second sanitization modality chosen from modalities including one or more UV lights, disinfectant solutions or liquids, and their combination disposed below the grate.
In general, in a fourth aspect, the disclosure features a sanitization platform. The sanitization platform includes a chamber, one or more UV LED strips disposed within the chamber, and a grate disposed at the top of the chamber.
In general, in a fifth aspect, the disclosure features a sanitization method. The sanitization method includes sanitizing the top and sides of a pair of shoes by way of a first sanitization modality including UV light, and sanitizing the bottom of the pair of shoes by way of a second sanitization modality chosen from modalities including UV light, disinfectant solutions or liquids, and their combination.
Features of the sanitization system, sanitization kiosk, sanitization station, sanitization platform, and sanitization method can include the following. The first sanitization modality can include one or more UV lights disposed above the grate that direct UV light over the top and sides of the user's shoes. The second sanitization modality can include one or more UV lights disposed below the grate that direct UV light toward the bottom of the user's shoes. The second sanitization modality can include an absorbent medium capable of holding the disinfectant solutions or liquids disposed below the grate. The absorbent medium can be a sponge. The grate can be designed to move downward during use such that pressure from the user standing on the grate pushes the grate into the absorbent medium and releases the disinfectant solutions or liquids from the absorbent medium. A user interface can receive input for a sanitization protocol from a user including mode of sanitization, duration of sanitization, and/or intensity of sanitization for one or more stages of sanitization. A microcontroller can be in bidirectional communication with the user interface which activates the first and/or second sanitization modalities based on the input. A mat can include an adhesive material capable of removing particular matter from the bottom of the user's shoes when stood upon. The one or more UV lights of the first sanitization modality and second sanitization modality can include UV LEDs. A reservoir can be disposed above the chamber and can be designed to hold and dispense the disinfectant solutions or liquids into the chamber. One or more pressure or motion sensors can be configured to sense a user's pressure or motion during use of the sanitization system, station, platform, or kiosk. The sensors with a timer can determine a duration of use of the sanitization system, station, platform, or kiosk. A door lock/unlock activator can be configured to unlock or lock a door. The microcontroller can receive input from the one or more pressure or motion sensors and the timer and send an output to the door lock/unlock activator to unlock the door when a threshold duration of use of the sanitization system, station, platform, or kiosk is determined. A door lock/unlock indicator can display a locked or unlocked status of the door. Particulate matter can be removed from the bottom of the user's shoes by way of a mat including an adhesive. A sanitization protocol including a first stage sanitization modality, a second stage sanitization modality, and/or a third stage sanitization modality, can be chosen and activated, the modalities chosen from cleaning, UV light sanitization, and disinfection with disinfectant solution(s) or liquid(s) and combinations thereof.
It should be understood that the sanitization system, kiosk, station, platform and method are not to be considered limitations on the invention defined by the claims. The featured sanitization system, kiosk, station, platform, and method can be implemented in one or more ways using one or more features depicted in the drawings, described in the detailed description, and set forth in the claims.
The accompanying drawings illustrate certain aspects and principles of the implementations set forth, and should not be construed as limiting.
Reference will now be made in detail to various illustrative implementations. It is to be understood that the following discussion of the implementations is not intended to be limiting.
“Sanitization” and “sanitizing” used in the context of systems, kiosks, stations, platforms, or methods described herein are used interchangeably to mean systems, kiosks, stations, platforms, or methods that reduce pathogenic agents or other microorganisms to acceptable levels or eliminate them, such as reducing or eliminating them on shoe surfaces. What the acceptable level is depends on the health requirements of the environment where sanitization occurs.
The disclosure provides specialized sanitization systems capable of sanitizing a user's shoes as they enter a location. The sanitization system includes multiple sanitizing features or modalities capable of sanitizing the surfaces of the user's shoes, such as the top, bottom, back, and sides. The features or modalities can have one more sanitizing activities including germicidal activity, sporicidal activity, virucidal activity, moldicidal activity, fungicidal activity, mildewcidal activity, protozocidal activity, yeasticidal activity, and algaecidal activity, or combinations thereof. The features or modalities can have one or more cleaning activities, or one or more disinfecting activities, or one or more sterilizing activities. The features or modalities can reduce pathogens such as bacteria, spores, viruses, mold, fungi, mildew, protozoa, yeast, algae, and/or other pathogens to acceptable levels on the surfaces of the user's shoes. Implementations can provide a 90% reduction in pathogens from shoe surfaces, 99% reduction from shoe surfaces, 99.9% reduction from shoe surfaces, 99.99% reduction from shoe surfaces, 99.999% reduction from shoe surfaces, or a 99.9999% reduction from shoe surfaces, up to the point where the pathogens are virtually eliminated from the shoe surfaces, based upon what level of sanitization is deemed acceptable. UV Doses (mJ/cm2, or J/m2) for various reduction levels of different types and species of microorganisms can be found in references or summaries published on the Internet, such as the websites of the manufacturers of UV equipment including American Air and Water® (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S.A.), ClorDiSys Solutions Inc. (Lebanon, New Jersey, U.S.A.), and UV Light Technology Limited (Birmingham, U.K.). In general, these doses range from about 1 to about 500 mJ/cm2. Implementations of the sanitization system include mats with adhesives that remove particulate material, sanitizing UV radiation, and disinfecting antiviral and/or antibacterial solutions or liquids that can be applied to user's shoes when the user enters the sanitization system. The sanitization system can be or include a mat, grate, platform, sanitizing kiosk, sanitizing station, or combination thereof, that incorporates one or more of the sanitizing features or modalities. The UV radiation can be implemented in the form of UV LEDs, UV fluorescent light bulbs, or UV lamps that can emit light in the UV-C portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (i.e., 100-280 nm wavelengths) which is known to have the highest sanitizing activity. The disinfecting antiviral and/or antibacterial solutions or liquids can include one or more disinfectant compounds including alcohols (e.g., ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol), chlorine compounds (e.g., sodium hypochlorite (active ingredient of bleach)), quaternary ammonium compounds (e.g., benzalkonium chloride), phenolics (e.g., carbolic acid, o-phenylphenol, chloroxylenol (active ingredient of DETTOL™) iodophors (e.g., povidone-iodine (active ingredient of BETADINE®)), and hydrogen peroxide. The concentrations of the active ingredients required to achieve sanitization, and discussion of other active ingredients that can be included can be found in references available to the skilled artisan, such as Russell, Hugo & Ayliffe's Principles and Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization, 5th ed. (ed. A. P. Fraise, J. Maillard, S. A. Satter), John Wiley & Sons, New York, incorporated by reference in its entirety.
One implementation of the sanitization system includes a mat that can be stepped on by a user at an initial stage of sanitization to provide cleaning. The material of the mat can include an adhesive that removes particulate matter from the undersides of the user's shoes, prior to the user entering the next stages of a sanitizing protocol. Another implementation provides a grate disposed over a chamber that houses one or more sanitizing modality. The grate is designed and dimensioned to support the weight of a person standing on the grate. The sanitizing modality within the chamber underneath the grate can include UV-emitting lights. The UV-emitting lights can be implemented as an array or arrays of UV LEDs such as light strips, one or more UV fluorescent light bulbs, or one or more UV lamps that direct sanitizing UV radiation on the underside of a user's shoes when the user steps on the grate. The sanitizing modality within the chamber underneath the grate can include a sponge or other absorbent medium capable of holding disinfectant solutions or liquids. The disinfectant solutions or liquids can be stored in a reservoir above the chamber and can replenish the absorbent medium through a tube fed through gravity by way of a controlled valve, or through a pump that moves the disinfectant solutions or liquids into the chamber. The valve and/or pump can be controlled manually or through a motor or actuator. The grate is designed to move downward into the chamber when a user stands on the grate, such that the user's weight pushes the grate into the sponge or other absorbent medium thereby compressing the absorbent medium and releasing the disinfectant solutions or liquids to flow above the grate through the spaces provided by the grate and coat the undersides of the user's shoes. Alternatively, the grate can be stationary and rollers made with an absorbent medium can press upward to release the disinfectant directly underneath the grate. Alternatively, the disinfectant solutions or liquids can be sprayed up through the grate to contact the user's shoe bottoms when the user stands on the grate. Standing on the grate can activate a pressure sensor which triggers the rollers or activates a pump to spray the disinfectant solutions or liquids upward through the grate. The sanitizing modality can include a combination of the UV-emitting lights and disinfectant solutions or liquids. The undersides of the user's shoes are sanitized by the combination of UV radiation and disinfectant solutions/liquids when the user stands on the grate. Another implementation of the sanitization system includes UV-emitting lights that direct sanitizing UV radiation above the grate toward the top and sides of the user's shoes. The UV-emitting lights can be designed to move at different angles to direct sanitizing UV radiation at different portions of the tops and sides of the user's shoes (e.g., a fixture holding the UV-emitting lights can move or detach, and the user can direct the light at different angles over the shoe surface manually) or can be provided in a hemispherical dome-like structure that can be lowered over the user's shoes which allows the UV radiation to be directed to the sides as well as the top of the shoes. The UV-emitting lights can be provided as an array having an appropriate number, density, and configuration for providing sufficient energy for sanitizing the shoe surfaces under the array, depending on the UV-emitting light source used. As such, the sanitization system allows for the relatively complete sanitization of the surfaces of the user's shoes (underside, top, and sides and back). Another implementation of the sanitization system includes a sanitizing kiosk or sanitizing station that incorporates one or more of the above features and a user interface that allows a user to design a sanitization protocol by choosing which sanitizing features he or she wants to be activated and in what order. The user interface can allow for one or more programmed sanitization treatments where a user would be able to select a desired sanitization range including a duration of sanitization and/or intensity of sanitization. For example, if the user is first entering a facility from the outside world, the user would select the highest levels of sanitization duration and/or intensity. On the other side of the spectrum, if a user is returning to a room he or she previously exited shortly before, and never left the building, then the user could select a less rigorous sanitization treatment duration and/or intensity. Alternatively, or in addition, the user interface can calculate duration and intensity of each mode of sanitation based on input of a desired sanitation level (e.g., 90% reduction, 99% reduction, 99.9% reduction, 99.99% reduction, 99.999% reduction, 99.9999% reduction) for a particular microorganism. The levels of sanitization can be determined by administering sanitizing UV radiation and/or disinfectant solutions or liquids at various dosages over various time periods (e.g., 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes) that the user engages with the sanitizing system. The sanitizing system can further include a mechanism that locks a door to another room or location prior to completion of sanitization and unlocks the door after sanitization. The entry door can unlock only when a user has spent a requisite period of time on the sanitizing mat, grate, platform, kiosk and/or station for full sanitization to occur. Another implementation of the sanitization system includes a motion detector which activates one or more of the sanitizing features when motion is detected. Alternatively, or in addition, the sanitizing features can be activated by a pressure-activated switch once a user steps on the mat and/or grate. The motion detector and/or pressure detector can also determine with a timer how long the user is standing upon the mat, grate, platform, kiosk, and/or station to determine whether a sufficient duration of sanitization has occurred. An additional feature can include a signaling device to signal to a user through audio or visual output that they need to remain in place upon the mat or grate while the sanitization system is working. The sanitization system can apply sanitization in a sanitization protocol at different stages, such that a first stage would be one form of sanitization (e.g., a cleaning mechanism such as an adhesive that removes particulate matter from the underside of the shoe), followed by a second stage of sanitization (e.g., UV light), followed by a third stage of sanitization (e.g., disinfectant solution or liquid). The sanitizing system can include a control system which includes a microcontroller or processor for controlling various functions of the sanitizing system. Also provided are sanitization methods that include sanitizing the top and sides of a pair of shoes by way of a first sanitization modality including UV light, and sanitizing the bottom of the pair of shoes by way of a second sanitization modality chosen from modalities including UV light, disinfectant solutions or liquids, and their combination. The methods can further include first removing particulate matter from the bottom of a pair of shoes by way of a mat including an adhesive. The methods can further include choosing and activating a sanitization protocol including a first stage sanitization modality, a second stage sanitization modality, and/or a third stage sanitization modality, the modalities chosen from cleaning, UV light sanitization, and disinfection with disinfectant solution(s) or liquid(s), or combinations thereof. The sanitization systems, methods, and their features can be used in settings where infection and contamination control are critical, such as hospitals and manufacturing. These and other implementations will be depicted in the following figures.
The user interface of the sanitizing kiosk 200 or sanitizing station 400 can be implemented as a touchscreen which displays specific icons, fields, and other features which are selectable by a user of the sanitizing system or implemented as a traditional computer screen where the features are selectable by way of a mouse or other input device and provide for input. Selection of the icons and other features by a user activates certain functions of the sanitizing system. The functions of the sanitizing system can be executable as computer program instructions stored on one or more computer-readable memory, or can be implemented as firmware or hardware (e.g., circuitry) or some combination of these. These computer program instructions may be provided to one or more processor(s) of the sanitizing system such as a microcontroller such that the instructions, which execute via the processor or processors create means for implementing the functions of the sanitizing system. As such, functions of the sanitizing system described herein can be controlled through computer-readable code, computer-readable instructions, computer-executable instructions, or “software” performed by one or more processor(s). Such software can be loaded onto a memory or memories of the sanitizing system as an application or program (or multiple applications and/or programs) capable of executing one or more functions of the sanitizing system. The computer-readable code, computer-readable instructions, computer-executable instructions, or “software” can be organized into routines, subroutines, procedures, objects, methods, functions, or any other organization of computer-executable instructions that is known or becomes known to a skilled artisan in light of this disclosure, and can be programmed in any suitable programming language, including PHP, HTML, XML, XHTML, JavaScript, C, C#, C++, Java, Python, Perl, Ruby, Swift, Visual Basic, and Objective C. By such programming, the computer-readable code, computer-readable instructions, computer-executable instructions, or “software” instruct one or more processors of the sanitizing system to carry out the functions of the sanitizing system. Input from the user interface can be stored in the sanitizing system's memory, and can include selection of various modalities of the sanitizing system including UV sanitization, the use of disinfectant solutions or liquids, or their combination at different stages (first UV then disinfectant solution; first disinfectant solution then UV; or simultaneous), a duration of sanitization (e.g., 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes), an intensity of sanitization, and/or a desired sanitation level. The intensity of sanitization can be a controllable level of output of UV energy measured as a dose in terms of Joules per square meter or millijoules per square centimeter. Alternatively, the intensity of sanitization can be controlled by adjusting the strength of the disinfectant solutions or liquids by controlling an amount of water or other solvent used to dilute the active ingredient(s) of the disinfectant solutions or liquids. The water or other solvent can be stored in a separate reservoir. The input can be entered into the sanitizing system through one or more data entry fields, check boxes, lists, or pull-downs displayed on the user interface which allow the user to input information related to the modes of operation, duration of sanitization, intensity of sanitization, and/or desired sanitation level of the sanitizing system. The input can direct a processor (e.g., the microcontroller 114 of
Alternatives to the user interface include a computer or portable computing device such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, gaming device, PDA or smartphone. The user interface functions can be provided as an application from cloud storage services providing retail application downloading to the user's computer or portable computing device through a network connection for hosting on the user's computer or computing device. The network can use any suitable network protocol, including IP, UDP, or ICMP, and may be any suitable wired or wireless network including any local area network, wide area network, Internet network, intranet network, telecommunications network, Wi-Fi enabled network, or BLUETOOTH® enabled network. Examples of suitable Internet-accessible sources include the Apple Store, Google Play, and other sites that make software applications and other downloads available for purchase or license. As such, instead of a specialized display, the user interface functions described above can be performed on the user's own computer or portable computing device through a downloaded application. The computer or computing device can be connected to other components of the sanitization system such as the microcontroller and direct their control and function by way of a wired connection (universal serial bus, or USB) or a wireless connection (Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH®). The computers, computing devices, or systems including the computers or computing devices can include a variety of components known in the art, including one or more processor(s), a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, standard I/O interfaces such as one or more interfaces including a universal serial bus (USB) port, an HDMI or HDMI ARC port, an optical port, an ethernet port, and/or a serial port, a hard drive, a disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, a motherboard, a printed circuit board (PCB), circuitry for enabling a wireless connection or communication to another device, such as a BLUETOOTH® board, a Wi-Fi board, or a transmitter-receiver for mobile telecommunications, a data bus, an address bus, a control bus, and/or one or more user interface devices including a display, keyboard, keypad, trackpad, mouse, control panel, touchscreen display, speaker, camera, and/or microphone. Portable computers/computing devices can include a GPS receiver. The computers, computing devices, or systems thereof can be equipped with an operating system implemented as software or firmware. As can be appreciated, the computers, computing devices, or systems may differ in their inclusion, exclusion, or configuration of components according to their individual applications or designs.
The present disclosure has described particular implementations having various features. In light of the disclosure provided above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. One skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed features may be used singularly, in any combination, or omitted based on the requirements and specifications of a given application or design. Further, one skilled in the art will recognize that one or more features described for one implementation (such as a sanitization kiosk) can be used interchangeably with features described for another implementation (such as a sanitization station or method). When an implementation refers to “comprising” certain features, it is to be understood that the implementations can alternatively “consist of” or “consist essentially of” any one or more of the features. Other implementations will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure.
It is noted in particular that where a range of values is provided in this specification, each value between the upper and lower limits of that range is also specifically disclosed. The upper and lower limits of these smaller ranges may independently be included or excluded in the range as well. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary in nature and that variations that do not depart from the essence of the disclosure fall within the scope of the disclosure. Further, all of the references cited in this disclosure including patents, published applications, and non-patent literature are each individually incorporated by reference herein in their entireties and as such are intended to provide an efficient way of supplementing the enabling disclosure as well as provide background detailing the level of ordinary skill in the art.
