Patent Publication Number: US-11638770-B2

Title: Ultraviolet sanitizing apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
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     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
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     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to sanitizing devices and more particularly pertains to a new sanitizing device for elimination of germs, viruses, and bacteria. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The prior art relates to sanitizing devices. Known devices utilize ultraviolet lighting for disinfecting purposes, yet largely fail to provide 360° of light exposure. These devices also lack motion sensor activation. Known devices also often do not accommodate items such as doorknobs and money. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing having a housing front side, a housing back side, a housing top side, a housing bottom side, a housing left side, and a housing right side. The housing front side has a receiving cavity extending through the housing back side. A plurality of light emitting diode (LED) ultraviolet lights is coupled to the housing within the receiving cavity on each of a cavity bottom side, a cavity top side, a cavity left side, and a cavity right side. A power source is coupled to the housing and is in operational communication with the plurality of LED ultraviolet lights. A motion sensor is coupled to the housing. The motion sensor is coupled within the receiving cavity and is in operational communication with the power source to activate the LED ultraviolet lights when triggered. 
     An alternative embodiment of the disclosure generally comprises a door having a door knob. A housing has a housing front side, a housing back side, a housing top side, a housing bottom side, a housing left side, and a housing right side. The housing front side has a receiving cavity extending through the housing back side. The housing back side is coupled to the door with the receiving cavity surrounding the door knob. A plurality of LED ultraviolet lights is coupled to the housing within the receiving cavity on each of a cavity bottom side, a cavity top side, a cavity left side, and a cavity right side. A power source is coupled to the housing and is in operational communication with the plurality of LED ultraviolet lights. A motion sensor is coupled to the housing. The motion sensor is coupled within the receiving cavity and is in operational communication with the power source to activate the LED ultraviolet lights when triggered. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is an isometric view of an ultraviolet sanitizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a rear elevation view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    is a side elevation view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a front elevation view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  5    is an isometric view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  6    is an isometric view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS.  1  through  6    thereof, a new sanitizing device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS.  1  through  6   , the ultraviolet sanitizing apparatus  10  generally comprises a housing  12  having a housing front side  14 , a housing back side  16 , a housing top side  18 , a housing bottom side  20 , a housing left side  22 , and a housing right side  24 . The housing front side  14  has a receiving cavity  26  extending through the housing back side  16 . The housing  12  may be free-standing with the housing bottom side  20  extending outwards to stabilize the housing  12  as seen in  FIGS.  1 - 3   . The housing top side  18  may have rounded edges meeting the housing front side  14  and the housing back side  16 . 
     A plurality of LED ultraviolet lights  28  is coupled to the housing  12 . The plurality of LED ultraviolet lights  28  is coupled within the receiving cavity  26  on each of a cavity bottom side  30 , a cavity top side  32 , a cavity left side  34 , and a cavity right side  36 . The plurality of LED ultraviolet lights  28  kill germs, bacteria, and viruses when activated. Each LED ultraviolet light  28  has an immediate on cycle and operates within a power range that is not harmful to human skin. 
     A power source  38  is coupled to the housing  12 . The power source  38  may be in operational communication with the plurality of LED ultraviolet lights  28 . The power source  38  may include a charger  40 , a battery  42 , and a transformer  44 . A solar panel  46  may be coupled to the housing  12  and in operational communication with the charger  40  to charge the battery  42 . The solar panel  46  may be coupled to the housing top side  18  and may extend onto the housing front side  14  and the housing back side  16 . 
     A motion sensor  48  is coupled to the housing  12 . The motion sensor  48  is coupled within the receiving cavity  26  and is in operational communication with the power source  38  to activate the plurality of LED ultraviolet lights  28  when triggered. The plurality of LED ultraviolet lights  28  may be activated for a programmed time interval or may be manipulated by a touch screen control panel  50  coupled to the housing  12 . The touch screen control panel  50  is coupled to the housing front side  14  and is in operational communication with the motion sensor  48 . 
     A Wi-Fi transceiver  52  may be coupled within the housing  12 . The Wi-Fi transceiver  52  is in operational communication with the power source  38 , the motion sensor  48 , and the control panel  50  in order to detect any malfunction and notify a service technician via the internet. 
     A first alternative embodiment of the invention  60  includes a door  62  having a door knob  64 . The housing back side  16  is coupled to the door  60  with the receiving cavity  26  surrounding the door knob  64 . The housing front side  14  may be circular as shown in  FIG.  4    or rectangular as shown in  FIG.  5   . 
     In a second alternative embodiment of the invention  70 , the housing  12  is configured to rest on a counter or a table and the receiving cavity  26  is dimensioned and configured to receive money as shown in  FIG.  6   . The power source  38  may include a standard wall plug  72 . 
     In use, the object in need of sanitation is placed within the receiving cavity  26  to trigger the motion sensor  48  and activate the plurality of LED ultraviolet lights  28 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.