CPC E03C 1/126 (2013.01) [A61L 2/10 (2013.01); A61L 2/24 (2013.01); A61L 2202/11 (2013.01); A61L 2202/14 (2013.01)] | 9 Claims |
1. A disinfecting device for disinfecting the interior of a drain pipe leading from a drain inlet of a sink basin to a U-shaped trap beneath the sink basin, the device comprising a drain pipe section below or downstream of the sink drain inlet, said drain pipe section having a cylindrical tubular wall having a substantially circular cross-section and having a predetermined thickness and defining an interior space and interior surface and formed with a hole in said tubular wall between the sink drain inlet and the U-shaped trap; at least one UV-C LED module positioned to register with said hole and including a UV-C LED that when energized generates a radiation beam having a predetermined radiation angle “θ” to transmit UV-C light into said drain pipe section through said hole to irradiate at least a portion of said interior surface and pathogens contained therein with UV-C light in proximity to said drain inlet; a substantially flat transparent lens having a diameter “D” and at least partially coextensive with said tubular wall thickness and arranged within said hole, said lens having an inwardly facing surface substantially tangent to a point on said interior surface of said tubular wall aligned with said hole; and energizing means for energizing said at least one UV-C LED module, said UV-C LED being spaced a distance from said lens a predetermined distance “s” and a thickness “t” to cause said radiation beam to irradiate said inner surface along at least a portion of said drain pipe proximate to said lens, wherein
s=D/[2 tan(θ/2)]−t,
whereby energizing said at least one UV-C LED module maximizes exposure of pathogens on said interior surface and airborne pathogens within said interior space to said UV-C conical radiation beam and reduces the ability of pathogens from entry into the sink basin.
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