Mobile air decontamination and purification unit

• US 20080086994A1
• Filed: 10/12/2006
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airinspace S.E
• Original Assignee: Airinspace Limited
• Inventors: Bergeron, Vance, Fullana, Laurent Adrien, Descotes, Laurent, Perrier, Aymeric, Darracq, Vivien
• Granted Patent: US 7,531,141 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 55/471
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/011 Prefiltering; Flow controlling
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/155 Filtration
• CPC Class Codes: B03C 3/32 Transportable units, e.g. for cleaning room air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0018 characterised by fans with secondary air induced by injector action of the primary air F24F1/01
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/005 mounted on the floor; standing on the floor
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0071 with means for purifying supplied air perfuming or deodorising means F24F1/008
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0076 by electric means, e.g. ionisers or electrostatic separators
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/035 characterised by the mounting or arrangement of filters
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0353 by electric means, e.g. ionisers or electrostatic separators
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/12 transportable
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 7/007 with forced flow using ducting systems F24F7/06
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/192 by electrical means, e.g. by applying electrostatic fields or high voltages
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/194 by filtering using high voltage
• 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

Abstract

A variety of transportable air treatment system improvements are described. In one aspect of the invention, the system is designed to significantly reduce the noise generated during operation. In another aspect, an easily removable cooling unit is provided. In still another aspect, an air treatment unit (as for example a plasma reactor) is provided that is arranged to filter the air stream, inactivate biological organisms and/or reduce or eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are carried in the air stream. The air treatment unit may take the form of a plurality of stacked trays. In yet another aspect of the invention, the air treatment system further includes a duct unit that directs air from the air treatment unit to the treated air outlet. The duct unit is operable to clamp the stacked trays to help seal the stacked trays.

Claims

1. A transportable air treatment system comprising:

an air intake;

a treated air outlet, there being an air flow path between the air intake and the air outlet;

a fan arranged to convey air along the air flow path;

an air treatment unit located downstream of the fan and the prefilter, the air treatment unit including a plurality of stacked trays; and

a duct that directs air from the air treatment unit towards the treated air outlet, wherein the duct is operable to clamp the stacked trays to help seal the stacked trays.

2. An air treatment system as recited in claim 1 wherein the stacked trays include a first tray having a plasma generator therein and a second tray located downstream of the first tray that includes an electrostatic filter.

3. An air treatment system as recited in claim 2 wherein the stacked trays further include a third tray located downstream of the second tray that includes a catalyst.

4. An air treatment system as recited in claim 1 wherein the fan is capable of conveying at least approximately 1000 cubic meters per hour of air through the air treatment system along the air flow path.

5. An air treatment system as recited in claim 1 wherein the duct includes a duct frame, the system further comprising a clamp system including:

a linkage system that is coupled to the duct frame; and

a handle that is pivotally connected to a linkage system and operable to move the duct frame between compression and release positions through the linkage system.

6. An air treatment system as recited in claim 5 wherein the clamp system further includes a plurality of rail members, each rail member being arranged to engage an associated tray, wherein the rail members are positioned such that when the handle is in the release position, the rail members support their associated trays in a spaced apart manner.

7. An air treatment system as recited in claim 6 wherein:

the linkage system includes a bracket that engages the duct frame, a rod that engages the bracket and a linkage mechanism that couples the handle to the rod;

the clamp system further includes a sheet carried by the bracket; and

the rails are carried on the sheet.

8. A air treatment unit for use in an air purification and filtering system, the air treatment unit comprising a plurality of immediately adjacent stacked trays, each tray being a self contained unit that houses components of the air treatment unit therein and includes an upstream wall having an upstream opening, a downstream wall having a downstream opening, and substantially sealed side walls, wherein the stacked trays include:

a first tray having an ion generator therein; and

a second tray located downstream of the first tray that includes an electrostatic filter.

9. An air treatment unit as recited in claim 8 further comprising a third tray located downstream of the second tray that includes a catalyst.

10. An air treatment unit as recited in claim 9 wherein the ion generator is a plasma generator.

11. An air purification and filtering system comprising:

a prefilter;

an air treatment unit as recited in claim 8, the air treatment unit being located downstream of the filter; and

a releasable clamping mechanism that clamps the trays together to help form peripheral seals between the trays, wherein the trays can be individually removed from the air purification unit when the clamping mechanism is released.

12. An air treatment unit as recited in claim 8 wherein the upstream and downstream tray openings are sized and configured substantially the same such that the downstream opening of each tray having an associated downstream tray matches the upstream opening of the associated downstream tray.

13. An air treatment unit as recited in claim 8 wherein:

each tray includes a box and a lid that covers the box; and

a junction between the box and the lid is sealed to minimize peripheral leakage from the tray.

14. A mobile air treatment system comprising:

a housing having a door;

an air intake located near a bottom end of the housing;

a treated air outlet located near a top end of the housing, there being an air flow path between the air intake and the air outlet;

a prefilter positioned within the air flow path and arranged to filter air drawn into the air flow path;

a first chamber located downstream of the air intake and the prefilter, the first chamber having side walls and being sealed relative to the door, wherein a first one of the side walls of the first chamber has an access opening that faces the door and the first chamber further includes a removable plate that covers the access opening to seal the first chamber relative to the door; and

a fan arranged to convey air along the air flow path;

an air treatment unit located downstream of the first chamber and the prefilter;

a removable cooling unit positioned within the first chamber, the cooling unit being arranged to pre-cool at least some of the air that passes through the air treatment unit, wherein the removable cooling unit is positioned as a free standing unit within the first chamber; and

an electrical control system carried by the housing, the electrical control system being arranged to provide power and any required control to at least the fan and the removable cooling unit; and

wherein the removable cooling unit has a first electrical connector that may be coupled to the electrical control system, a water input coupling and a water outlet coupling, and whereby the cooling unit may be installed by placing the cooling unit as a freestanding unit in the first chamber and coupling the electrical with a second electrical connector associated with the electrical control box and coupling the water input coupling with an associated water supply and coupling the output couplings with an associated water drain.

15. A transportable air treatment system comprising:

a housing having a door;

an air intake located near a bottom end of the housing;

a treated air outlet located near a top end of the housing, there being an air flow path between the air intake and the air outlet and the distance between the air intake and the air outlet being at least 150 cm;

a prefilter positioned within the air flow path and arranged to filter air drawn into the air flow path;

a first chamber located downstream of the air intake, the first chamber having side walls and being sealed relative to the door;

a second chamber located downstream of the first chamber, the second chamber having side walls and being sealed relative to the door;

a fan support plate that defines a boundary between the first and second chamber;

a fan mounted on the fan support plate, the fan being arranged to convey air along the air flow path, wherein the fan is located substantially centrally relative to the side walls of the first chamber and the side walls of the second chamber, and a ratio of the hydraulic diameter of the second chamber to the diameter of the fan is at least 1.4;

an air treatment unit located downstream of the second compartment, the air treatment unit being arranged to further filter air conveyed along the air flow path; and

wherein the second chamber is substantially balanced aerodynamically from side-to-side and from front-to-back as seen by the fan in order to help reduce the probability of air pressure imbalances on the fan that contribute to noise generation.

16. An air treatment system as recited in claim 15 further comprising a removable cooling unit positioned within the first chamber, the cooling unit being arranged to pre-cool at least some of the air that passes through the air treatment unit.

17. An air treatment system as recited in claim 15 wherein the air treatment unit includes a plurality of stacked trays.

18. An air treatment system as recited in claim 15 further comprising a duct that directs air from the air treatment unit to the treated air outlet, wherein the duct is operable to clamp the stacked trays to help seal the stacked trays.

19. An air treatment system as recited in claim 15 wherein the fan is capable of conveying at least approximately 1000 cubic meters per hour of air through the air treatment system along the air flow path.

20. An air treatment system as recited in claim 15 wherein:

a first one of the side walls of the first chamber has a first access opening that faces the door, the first chamber further comprising a first removable plate that covers the first access opening to seal the first chamber relative to the door; and

a first one of the side walls of the second chamber has a second access opening that faces the door, the second chamber further comprising a second removable plate that covers the second access opening to seal the second chamber relative to the door.

21. An air treatment system as recited in claim 15 wherein:

an electric control box positioned within the second chamber; and

a matching structure positioned within the second chamber that substantially mirrors an external geometry of the electric control box to help aerodynamically balance the second chamber as seen by the fan.

22. An air treatment system as recited in claim 15 wherein the hydraulic diameter of the second chamber to the diameter of the fan is at least 1.5.