Lighting apparatus and system for decontamination

• US 20050025662A1
• Filed: 06/07/2004
• Published: 02/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inventive Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Inventive Holdings LLC
• Inventors: Lestician, Guy J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,612,492 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 422/24
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 3/26 by irradiation without heating
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 3/28 with ultraviolet light
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/08 Radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/10 Ultraviolet radiation

Abstract

Contamination is reduced by exposing a specimen to light, such that the light includes ultraviolet and light of wavelength in the visible region, so that the light in the visible region damages the shell of an organism and the ultraviolet light prevents reproduction of the organism.

Claims

1. A method of reducing contamination, comprising:

exposing a specimen to ultraviolet light; and

exposing the specimen to light at one or more selected wavelengths in the visible region, the irradiance of the light at the one or more selected wavelengths in the visible region being sufficient to accelerate damage to one or more organisms in or on the specimen.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the irradiance of the light at one or more selected wavelengths in the visible region is sufficient to open a shell of the one or more organisms.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more selected wavelengths in the visible region have been selected based on the one or more organisms for which contamination reduction is desired.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the exposure to ultraviolet light and the exposure to visible light occur simultaneously

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the ultraviolet light comprises light at a wavelength of approximately 254 nm.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising simultaneously exposing the specimen to light at one or more reduced wavelengths, the one or more reduced wavelengths being below 200 nm, at an intensity sufficient to produce ozone.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the light is produced by a germicidal bulb.

8. A decontamination system, comprising:

a power source;

a lighting controller;

one or more ultraviolet lamps that, when controlled by the lighting controller, will emit ultraviolet and visible light, the visible light including light at one or more selected wavelengths at intensities sufficient to accelerate damage to an organism exposed to the light.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the one or more lamps are comprised of quartz.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the one or more lamps contain a gas mixture comprising at least argon and krypton.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the one or more lamps contain a gas mixture for a germicidal lamp.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the controller includes a frequency generator that adjusts the irradiance of the light emitted at one or more of the wavelengths so that the adjusted intensities of the light emitted at the selected wavelengths are near the intensity of the emitted ultraviolet light.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the frequency generator comprises a pulse width modulator.

14. The system of claim 8 wherein the controller includes one or more transformers having at least one winding comprising multistranded wire.

15. A decontamination apparatus, comprising:

a lighting controller including a power source, a frequency generator, and an output; and

one or more fluorescent bulbs connected to receive power from the output and emit light in the ultraviolet and visible regions, the light in the visible regions including being emitted at selected wavelengths at intensities sufficient to open a shell of an organism.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the intensities of at least one of the selected wavelengths of emitted visible region light are near the intensity of the emitted ultraviolet light.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the bulbs contain a gas comprising argon ad krypton.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the frequency generator adjusts the intensities of the light emitted at the selected wavelengths.

19. A lighting controller, comprising:

a frequency generator; and

an output to receive and deliver power to one or more lamps;

wherein the frequency generator adjusts the frequency of a signal delivered to the output so that, when the output is connected to one or more bulbs, the bulbs emit radiation at a frequency that will crack the shell of an organism; and

wherein the output also delivers power to the one or more bulbs so that the one or more bulbs will emit light at approximately 254 nm.