Air purifier

• US 20070034082A1
• Filed: 05/30/2006
• Published: 02/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SC Johnson & Son Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Masterson Enterprises, LLC
• Inventors: Gruber, Dennis, Beland, Rene, Eagleton, C., Adair, Joel, Harwig, Jeffrey, Varanasi, Padma, Gasper, Thomas, Crapser, James
• Granted Patent: US 7,537,647 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 96/63
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 45/06 by reversal of direction of flow
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 45/08 by impingement against baffle separators
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/32 by electrical effects other than those provided for in group B01D61/00
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/017 Combinations of electrostatic separation with other processes, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/155 Filtration
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/32 Transportable units, e.g. for cleaning room air
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/368 by other than static mechanical means, e.g. internal ventilator or recycler
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/192 by electrical means, e.g. by applying electrostatic fields or high voltages
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/30 by ionisation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 50/20 Air quality improvement or preservation, e.g. vehicle emission control or emission reduction by using catalytic converters
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 261/88 Aroma dispensers

Abstract

The present invention is an air purifier including an ionizing assembly that operates to charge particulate material in an air flow passing through the purifier. The charged particulate material is attracted to and retained by a filter element disposed downstream of the ionization assembly and having an electrical charge opposite to the charged particulate material. The purified air passing through the filter is directed out of the device, optionally in conjunction with a fragrance that is added to the purified air flow. The ionizing assembly is formed with a ground member disposed adjacent the ionizing member to keep the electrons generated by the ionizing assembly within the purifier, and thus prevent static discharges from occurring outside of the purifier. The air flow is directed by a fan through the purifier in an angular and substantially laminar manner, such that the efficiency of the purifier is increased.

Claims

1. An air purifier comprising a housing defining an inlet, an outlet spaced from the inlet, and an air flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, the air flow path including a straight section extending from one of the inlet or the outlet, and an angled section extending from the straight section towards the other of the inlet or the outlet, wherein the angled section defines an angle with respect to the straight section that optimizes the purification of air moving through the device along the air flow path.

2. The air purifier of claim 1 further comprising a baffle disposed within the air flow path at the intersection of the straight section and the angled section.

3. The air purifier of claim 2 wherein the baffle includes a narrow end connected to the housing and a wide end located opposite the narrow end and disposed within the air flow path.

4. The air purifier of claim 3 wherein the baffle is formed of an elongate planar member having a pair of opposed ends and a pair of opposed sides extending between the pair of opposed ends, wherein the pair of opposed ends form the narrow end and are secured to the housing generally perpendicular to the air flow path.

5. The air purifier of claim 1 wherein the angled section forms an angle of between about 20°

to about 60°

with respect to the straight section.

6. The air purifier of claim 1 further comprising an ionizing mechanism disposed within the housing across the air flow path, the ionizing mechanism including a first ionizing assembly having a pin assembly disposed within the air flow path, and a ground member disposed around the pin assembly along the periphery of the air flow path upstream of the pin assembly.

7. The air purifier of claim 1 further comprising an air movement mechanism disposed in the housing across the air flow path, the air movement mechanism including:

a) a mounting frame having a central portion, a number of support arms extending outwardly from the central portion and an outer ring connected to the support arms and spaced from the central portion;

b) an impeller rotatably mounted to the central portion; and

c) a second ionizing assembly secured to the mounting frame, the second ionizing assembly including a conducting base member mounted to the ring, at least one first pin extending radially inwardly from the base member, and at least one second pin mounted to the central portion.

8. The air purifier of claim 7 wherein the at least one first pin is an ionizing pin and the at least on second pin is a ground pin.

9. The air purifier of claim 7 further comprising a filter element disposed within the housing across the air flow path and spaced from the air movement mechanism, the filter having a charge opposite to a charge created by the first ionizing assembly.

10. The air purifier of claim 9 wherein the filter element is disposed upstream of the air movement mechanism.

11. An air purifier comprising:

a) a housing defining an inlet, an outlet spaced from the inlet, and an air flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, the air flow path including a straight section extending from one of the inlet or the outlet, and an angled section extending from the straight section towards the other of the inlet or the outlet

b) an ionizing mechanism disposed within the housing across the air flow path adjacent the inlet, the ionizing mechanism including a first ionizing assembly having a pin assembly disposed within the air flow path, and a ground member disposed around the pin assembly along the periphery of the air flow path upstream of the pin assembly.

12. The air purifier of claim 11 wherein the ground member defines a pair of apertures therein that are separated by a cross-member.

13. The air purifier of claim 12 wherein the pin assembly includes a pair of ionizing pins, each pin disposed concentrically with the apertures defined by the ground member.

14. The air purifier of claim 11 further comprising a filter element disposed within the housing across the air flow path and spaced from the ionizing mechanism, the filter having a charge opposite to a charge created by the first ionizing assembly.

15. The air purifier of claim 14 further comprising a filter frame disposed within the housing across the air flow path, wherein the pin assembly is fixed to the filter frame, and wherein the filter is slidably mounted to the filter frame.

16. The air purifier of claim 15 wherein the ground member is fixed to the filter frame.

17. The air purifier of claim 15 further comprising a filter tray in which the filter is removably positioned, the filter tray slidably engagable with the filter frame to position the filter perpendicularly to the air flow path.

18. The air purifier of claim 11 further comprising a rotatable plug deck assembly connected to the housing and engagable with a wall outlet, the plug deck assembly including:

a) a plug and outlet housing;

b) a retaining ring fixed to the plug and outlet housing and including a number of retaining members spaced around the periphery of the retaining ring 90°

from one another; and

c) a locking ring disposed on the housing and including a number of locking members spaced around the periphery of the locking ring 90°

from one another, wherein the retaining ring is rotatably engaged within the locking ring and wherein the retaining members are engagable with the locking members to position the housing in a vertical or a horizontal configuration with respect to the wall outlet.

19. The air purifier of claim 11 further comprising an air movement mechanism disposed in the housing across the air flow path adjacent the outlet, the air movement mechanism including:

a) mounting frame having a central portion, a number of support arms extending outwardly from the central portion and an outer ring connected to the support arms and spaced from the central portion;

b) an impeller rotatably mounted to the central portion; and

c) a second ionizing assembly secured to the mounting frame, the second ionizing assembly including a conducting base member mounted to the ring, at least one first pin extending radially inwardly from the base member, and at least one second pin mounted to the central portion.

20. An air purifier comprising:

a) a housing defining an inlet, an outlet spaced from the inlet, and an air flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, the air flow path including a straight section extending from one of the inlet or the outlet, and an angled section extending from the straight section towards the other of the inlet or the outlet, wherein the angled section defines an angle of between about 20°

to about 60°

with respect to the straight section;

b) an ionizing mechanism disposed within the housing adjacent the inlet across the air flow path, the ionizing mechanism including a first ionizing assembly having a pin assembly disposed within the air flow path, and a ground member disposed around the pin assembly along the periphery of the air flow path upstream of the pin assembly;

c) an air movement mechanism mounted adjacent the outlet including a mounting frame having a central portion, a number of support arms extending outwardly from the central portion and an outer ring connected to the support arms and spaced from the central portion, an impeller rotatably mounted to the central portion, and a second ionizing assembly secured to the mounting frame, the second ionizing assembly including a conducting base member mounted to the ring, at least one first pin extending radially inwardly from the base member, and at least one second pin mounted to the central portion; and

d) a filter element disposed within the housing across the air flow path and spaced between the first ionizing assembly and he second ionizing created by the first ionizing assembly.