Benzinga | Sep 29, 2020 08:33AM EDT

Applied UV, Inc. Subsidiary, SteriLumen, Inc., Announces Filing Of US Patent Application For A System To Neutralize Pathogens On Physical Surfaces

Sterilumen patent-pending UV Light sanitizing solution designed to be retrofitted to Bank ATMs to automatically disinfect surfaces on an ATM machine, including a keyboard, touchscreen, credit card reader between uses

MOUNT VERNON, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 29, 2020 / Applied UV, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUVI) ("Applied UV" or the "Company"), an infection prevention technology company that applies the power of narrow-range ultra violet light ("UVC") utilizing its patented devices to destroy pathogens safely, thoroughly, and automatically, today announced that its subsidiary, SteriLumen, Inc. ("SteriLumen"), has filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") pertaining to a system to neutralize pathogens on physical surfaces.

The public is confronted on a daily basis with the numerous surfaces that need to be touched during normal uses, including as examples ATMs, vending machines, escalators, and kiosks with interactive screens. As of 2018, there were approximately 470,000 ATMs in the U.S. These surfaces are touched daily by an inordinate number of people that can harbor and transfer pathogens highly associated with illnesses and diseases. E.coli, salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus and, more recently, coronavirus Covid-19 can be found on these commonly used surfaces and can easily spread to those in the general public if untreated, these bacteria and viruses can be transferred easily to cause serious illness.

Max Munn, President of Applied UV, commented, "We strongly believe that the Sterilumen line of UVC devices are powerful and flexible solutions for safely neutralizing serious pathogens commonly found on surfaces that people come in contact with daily. The newly filed utility patent application strengthens our patent portfolio and will help us expand the capabilities and applications of our platform to other business sectors that need to safely and efficiently address the ever-increasing problem posed by pathogens in public spaces."

As of August 24, 2020, SteriLumen owned seven issued patents and one pending patent application in the United States; owned one patent application to be imminently issued in the European Union and has 6 pending patent applications in China, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The U.S. patent numbers are 9,724,442, 10,039,853, 10,307,504, 10,456,496, 10,463,759 and 10,639,394 issued on August 8, 2017, August 7, 2018, June 4, 2019, October 29, 2019, November 5, 2019 and May 5, 2020, respectively. The issued patents and pending patent applications cover various aspects of the SteriLumen Disinfecting System including, the disinfection system; disinfection system embedded into a fixture generally, and a vanity mirror specifically, and the mechanical components of any such mirror, including hinge mount and programmable controller for regulating UV light.

A provisional patent application offers a patent applicant an option of filing without including a formal patent claim. The aim of a provisional patent application is to establish an early effective filing date, in addition to allowing the patent applicant or a licensee to ascribe the phrase "patent pending" to any product development and methodologies associated with the subject matter. Once converted into a U.S. non-provisional, the utility application will provide composition of matter protection for Sterilumen's UVC retrofit device designed to disinfect numerous surfaces normally or typically touched by many people, including, but not limited to, ATMs, vending machines, escalators, and kiosks with interactive screens.