Patent Description:
The recent novel-coronavirus (SARS-COV-<NUM>) outbreak has negatively impacted the safety and health of many people. Pathogens can be transmitted via direct airborne transmission between users or via indirect contact transmission from different users occupying the same space at different times. For example, lingering pathogens may remain on contact surfaces of an aircraft cabin to be spread to passengers and/or crew members on a subsequent flight. The safety of passengers and crew members may be improved by performing disinfecting treatments to surfaces, such as seats, ceiling/wall panels, handles, and lavatory surfaces, etc., to mitigate the presence of pathogens on such surfaces. However, conventional disinfection procedures between flights may take time and may thus adversely affect the operating efficiency of the aircraft (increased interval time between flights), and the effectiveness and quality of such conventional treatments are often difficult to verify/track.

The present invention provides a lighting assembly as defined by claim <NUM>.

In various embodiments, controlling the relative intensity outputs comprises blending the first electromagnetic radiation, the second electromagnetic radiation, and the third electromagnetic radiation to emit white light from the at least one lighting unit.

A more complete understanding of the present disclosure, however, may best be obtained by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the drawing figures.

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments by way of illustration. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical changes and adaptations in design and construction may be made in accordance with this disclosure and the teachings herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Disclosed herein, according to various embodiments, are devices, systems, methods, and articles of manufacture for incorporating a degree of disinfecting electromagnetic radiation into visible light from a lighting unit. Generally, the devices, systems, methods, and articles of manufacture disclosed and described herein facilitate disinfection treatments, specifically to incorporating electromagnetic radiation that can at least partially inactivate or inhibit pathogens, according to various embodiments. Although numerous details and examples are included herein pertaining to utilizing these concepts to aircraft cabins, the present disclosure is not necessarily so limited, and thus aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be adapted for performance in a variety of other industries (e.g., trains, vehicles, buildings, hotels, etc.). As such, numerous applications of the present disclosure may be realized.

With reference to <FIG>, a cabin <NUM> of an aircraft <NUM> is shown, according to various embodiments. The aircraft <NUM> may be any aircraft such as an airplane, a helicopter, or any other aircraft. The aircraft <NUM> may include various lighting systems <NUM> that emit visible light to the cabin <NUM>. Pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, may remain on surfaces of the cabin <NUM>, and these remaining pathogens may result in indirect contact transmission to other people (e.g., subsequent passengers). For example, the cabin <NUM> may include overhead bins <NUM>, passenger seats <NUM> for supporting passengers <NUM>, handles <NUM>, lavatory surfaces, and other structures/surfaces upon which active pathogens may temporarily reside. As will be discussed further below, in order to reduce the transmission/transfer or pathogens between passengers, one or more of the lighting systems <NUM> may blend disinfecting electromagnetic radiation into the visible light in order to facilitate disinfection of the cabin <NUM> (e.g., during flights and/or between flights). The lighting systems <NUM> may be broken down into different addressable lighting regions that could be used on an aircraft. For example, the regions on an aircraft may include sidewall lighting, cross-bin lighting, over wing exit lighting, ceiling lighting, direct lighting, flex lights, reading lights, dome lights, lavatory lights, mirror lights, cockpit lights, cargo lights, etc. The regional breakdown of the lighting system allows lighting control over broad areas of the aircraft.

In various embodiments, and with reference to <FIG>, a lighting system <NUM> is provided. The lighting system <NUM> may be one or more of the lighting systems <NUM> of the aircraft <NUM> from <FIG>. The lighting system <NUM> generally includes a lighting unit <NUM>, circuitry <NUM>, and a controller <NUM>, according to various embodiments. The lighting unit <NUM>, according to various embodiments, includes a specific light-emitting diode ("LED") configured to emit electromagnetic radiation that is at least partially effective at inactivating and/or inhibiting pathogens. With this specific LED incorporated with other standard LEDs, the disinfecting electromagnetic radiation may be masked (i.e., blended) with the other electromagnetic radiation. Additional details pertaining to the lighting unit <NUM>, the circuitry <NUM>, and the controller <NUM> are provided below.

The term "lighting unit," as used herein, generally refers to an array of discrete LEDs that are controlled to blend their respective radiations to collectively produce a desired hue and intensity of electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, the lighting unit <NUM> include a first LED <NUM> configured to emit first electromagnetic radiation having a first wavelength of between about <NUM> nanometers ("nm") and about <NUM> (e.g., red light), a second LED <NUM> configured to emit second electromagnetic radiation having a second wavelength of between about <NUM> and about <NUM> (e.g., green light), and a third LED <NUM> (e.g., the 'specific' LED mentioned above) configured to emit third electromagnetic radiation having a third wavelength between about <NUM> and about <NUM>. In various embodiments, the third wavelength is between about <NUM> and about <NUM>. In various embodiments, the third wavelength is about <NUM>. As used in this context only, the term "about" refers to plus or minus <NUM>. Thus, the third LED <NUM> may emit "long-wave" ultraviolet light, commonly referred to as "UV-A" light, and this third LED <NUM> may replace a conventional blue LED. This type UV-A light may facilitate a degree of pathogen inactivity and/or inhibition over a conventional blue LED, and thus is referred to herein as "disinfecting electromagnetic radiation," while still being safe for humans. Pathogens may refer to bacteria, viruses, fungal spores, and other microorganisms. In various embodiments, the lighting unit may include more than these three LEDs. For example, the lighting unit may include <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> LEDs, and these additional LEDs may be other colors, such as amber, cyan, etc..

In various embodiments, and with momentary reference to <FIG>, a color space chromaticity diagram from the International Commission on Illumination ("CIE"), commonly referred to as a CIE <NUM> system diagram <NUM>, is provided. <FIG> is a black and white representation of <FIG> with various regions of the CIE <NUM> system diagram <NUM> labeled with their respective colors. That is, <FIG> is labeled with a red region, a green region, and a blue region. The CIE <NUM> system diagram <NUM> shows a conventional color gamut <NUM> in which a conventional blue LED <NUM> is utilized in a conventional lighting unit, and the CIE <NUM> system diagram <NUM> also shows a disinfecting color gamut <NUM> provided by replacing the conventional blue LED <NUM> with a specific LED <NUM> configured to emit disinfecting electromagnetic radiation. Thus, both the conventional color gamut <NUM> and the disinfecting color gamut <NUM> may be formed of a first LED <NUM> and a second LED <NUM>, which may be comparable to the first LED <NUM> and the second LED <NUM>, respectively referenced above, but the disinfecting color gamut <NUM> includes LED <NUM> configured to emit UV-A light as opposed to "blue" light. The shifted, disinfecting color gamut <NUM> still provides for the collective radiation of the three LEDs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> to be tuned based on desired color output, as described in greater detail below. That is, the lighting unit <NUM> may still be controlled to create different lighting schemes within color gamut <NUM> while including (e.g., masking) UV-A radiation. In various embodiments, if the lighting unit has more than <NUM> LEDs, the color gamut may be further expanded (e.g., may be referred to as a hyper gamut and may comprise, for example <NUM> LEDs). Thus, the lighting unit <NUM> disclosed herein generally replaces a conventional "blue" light with the UV-A light.

Returning to reference <FIG>, the circuitry <NUM> of the lighting system <NUM> may include a circuit board <NUM> and may generally include various integrated circuit components which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of the controller <NUM>. In various embodiments, the combination of the lighting unit <NUM> and the circuitry <NUM> is referred to as a lighting assembly, and the lighting assembly is configured to be driven/controlled by the controller <NUM>, as described in greater detail below. The particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative examples of an LED lighting assembly, and are thus not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. For the sake of brevity, conventional electronics other components of the circuitry (such as power supplies and power modulators) may not be described in detail. The circuitry <NUM> is electrically coupled to the lighting unit <NUM> to supply respective driving signals to each of the LEDs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. In various embodiments, the lighting unit <NUM> may include additional LEDs, such as a white LED <NUM>. In various embodiments, the lighting unit consists of only the three LEDs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> described above, and thus may not include other LEDs. The lighting unit <NUM> may be replicated/repeated along a strip of circuit board <NUM>. In various embodiments, the circuitry <NUM> and/or the circuit board <NUM> includes a fluorescence inhibiting coating that is configured to decrease fluorescence of the circuit board in response to the UV-A radiation. In various embodiments, the lighting unit <NUM> may include a diffuser lens (or diffuser lenses) covering the LEDs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and these lens(es) may comprise a glass material, a polymethyl methacrylate material, and/or a polyamide material, among others. In various embodiments, these lens(es) are not made from polycarbonate materials, as UV-A radiation may not transmit well through such materials.

In various embodiments, and with continued reference to <FIG>, the controller <NUM> of the light system <NUM> may be affixed/integrated into the circuitry <NUM> or the controller <NUM> may be integrated into computer systems onboard an aircraft. The controller <NUM> in <FIG> is shown schematically, and thus the size, position, and orientation of the controller may be different than what is depicted in <FIG>. In various embodiments, the controller <NUM> comprises a processor. In various embodiments, the controller <NUM> is implemented in a single processor. In various embodiments, the controller <NUM> may be implemented as and may include one or more processors and/or one or more tangible, non-transitory memories and be capable of implementing logic. Each processor can be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The controller <NUM> may comprise a processor configured to implement various logical operations in response to execution of instructions, for example, instructions stored on a non-transitory, tangible, computer-readable medium (i.e., the memory) configured to communicate with the controller <NUM>. Furthermore, any number of conventional techniques for electronics configuration, signal processing and/or control, data processing and the like may be employed. Also, the processes, functions, and instructions may can include software routines in conjunction with processors, etc..

System program instructions and/or controller instructions may be loaded onto a non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the controller to perform various operations. The term "non-transitory" is to be understood to remove only propagating transitory signals per se from the claim scope and does not relinquish rights to all standard computer-readable media that are not only propagating transitory signals per se.

The instructions stored on the memory of the controller <NUM> may be configured to perform various operations. The schematic flow chart diagrams of <FIG> include various exemplary controller methods <NUM>, <NUM> that the processor of the controller <NUM> may perform. Generally, the controller <NUM> electrically coupled to the circuitry <NUM> and is configured to control, by the processor, the relative intensity outputs of the respective LEDs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> of the lighting unit <NUM>, according to various embodiments. Controlling the relative intensity outputs of the LEDs <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> may include blending the first electromagnetic radiation, the second electromagnetic radiation, and the third electromagnetic radiation to emit a specific color scheme, such as white light, from the lighting unit (or from multiple lighting units forming a region/module of lights). In various embodiments, the operations performed by the controller may include determining a dosage of disinfecting electromagnetic radiation from the third LED <NUM>.

For example, and with reference to controller method <NUM> of <FIG>, the controller may be configured to control the relative intensity outputs of a plurality of LEDs at step <NUM> and determining the dosage of disinfecting electromagnetic radiation from one of LEDs (e.g., the third LED that is configured to emit UV-A) at step <NUM>. In various embodiments, and with reference to <FIG>, the controller method <NUM> includes include calculating, by the processor, a disinfection rating of an environment where the lighting assembly is situated. The disinfection rating may be based on at least one of an intensity of the third electromagnetic radiation, an activated time of the third LED (e.g., to account for how long the disinfecting UV-A light has been irradiated at target surfaces and/or to account for luminance degradation over time), and a distance between the light unit <NUM> and a target surface of the environment that is susceptible to indirect contact transmission of pathogens. The term "disinfection rating" may refer to a planned disinfection procedure (i.e., an estimated quantification of the extent of a disinfection treatment that will be carried out) or may refer to a performed disinfection procedure (i.e., an estimated quantification of the cleanliness of the environment after a disinfection treatment has been performed). In various embodiments, the operations performed by the controller <NUM> include recommending supplementary disinfection procedures. That is, if the lighting unit <NUM> was not activated for a sufficient time period, the aircraft may require supplemental/extra disinfection to meet cleanliness thresholds. Accordingly, the controller <NUM> may communicate an alert or other notification to an aircraft crew member or other maintenance operator. In various embodiments, the controller <NUM> may actively modulate the light blending in order to meet threshold cleanliness levels. For example, the controller <NUM> may be configured to increase the intensity of the third LED <NUM> (e.g., more than that of the first and second LEDs <NUM>, <NUM>) between flights or during portions of a flight when not as much visible white light may be necessary, thus increasing the disinfection intensity of the UV-A light (i.e., enhanced-disinfecting light).

Moreover, where a phrase similar to "at least one of A, B, or C" is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C.

Claim 1:
A lighting assembly comprising:
a lighting unit comprising:
a first light-emitting diode, LED, (<NUM>) configured to emit first electromagnetic radiation having a first wavelength of between about <NUM> nanometers, nm, and about <NUM>;
a second LED (<NUM>) configured to emit second electromagnetic radiation having a second wavelength of between about <NUM> and about <NUM>; and
a third LED (<NUM>) configured to emit third electromagnetic radiation having a third wavelength between about <NUM> and about <NUM>
circuitry (<NUM>) electrically coupled to the lighting unit and configured to drive relative intensity outputs of the respective LEDs of the lighting unit; and
a controller (<NUM>) electrically coupled to the circuitry, the controller comprising a processor and a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform various operations comprising:
controlling, by the processor, the relative intensity outputs of the respective LEDs;
calculating, by the processor, a disinfection rating of an environment where the lighting assembly is situated using an intensity of the third electromagnetic radiation, an activated time of the third LED, and a distance between the lighting unit and a target surface of the environment that is susceptible to indirect contact transmission of pathogens, wherein the disinfection rating comprises a planned disinfection procedure and an estimated cleanliness of the environment after a performed disinfection procedure; and recommending, by the processor, supplementary disinfection procedures if the estimated cleanliness of the environment fails to meet a cleanliness threshold.