SANITIZING HAND DRYER

• US 20130031799A1
• Filed: 04/09/2012
• Published: 02/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Excel Dryer Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Excel Dryer Incorporated
• Inventors: Gagnon, Denis, Gagnon, William, Eckhardt, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 10,548,439 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 34/526
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/48 Drying by means of hot air hair-drying devices A45D20/00; curative hot-air baths A61H33/06; electric heating elements H05B

Abstract

A sanitizing hand dryer comprises a dryer housing having an inlet air channel and an outlet air channel. A blower draws air into the dryer housing through the inlet air channel, and directs the air out of the dryer housing through the outlet air channel A sanitizing system sanitizes the air within the inlet air channel and the air within the outlet air channel, wherein the sanitizing system within the inlet air channel includes at least one of a first air filter, a first ozone generator, a first sanitizing light source, a first photocatalytic oxidation system, a first ion generator, and a first electrostatic precipitator. The sanitizing system within the outlet air channel includes at least one of a second air filter, a second ozone generator, a second sanitizing light source, a second photocatalytic oxidation system, a second ion generator, and a second electrostatic precipitator.

Claims

1. A sanitizing hand dryer, comprising:

a dryer housing having an air inlet and an exit nozzle;

an air filter assembly having a coarse filter and a high-efficiency particulate air filter that receives air from the air inlet and provides filtered air;

a blower that draws filtered air and accelerates that filtered air to provide high speed filtered air; and

an ion generator that includes a wire grid through which the filtered air passes to provide sanitized air to the exit nozzle.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a heater that is positioned downstream of blower and upstream of the ion generator along a flow path of the high speed filtered air to hear the high speed filtered air.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the exit nozzle is shaped in such a manner that the air is blown with sufficient force to knock moisture off skin of a user.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the air filter assembly comprises a housing that receives a removable and replaceable filter cartridge that comprises the coarse filter and the high-efficiency particulate air filter.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the removable and replaceable filter cartridge comprises a first gasket on an exterior surface of the air filter assembly to seal against adjacent sidewall surfaces of the housing.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the housing comprises inwardly tapered parallel sidewalls which form a chamber that receives the filter cartridge.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the housing comprises a back surface having an opening therein through which filtered air passes to the blower, wherein an exterior surface of the back surface surrounding the opening includes a second gasket that forms a seal between the housing and the blower so substantially only filtered air enters the blower while the blower is operating.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a sensor that automatically turns on the blower and ion generator when the hands of a user are detected immediately below the exit nozzle.

9. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a convective heating element located upstream of the ion generator and downstream of the blower to heat the high speed filtered air.

10. A sanitizing hand dryer, comprising:

a dryer housing having an air inlet and an exit nozzle, wherein the exit nozzle is perpendicular to an axial direction of the air inlet;

a filter housing that is secured to the dryer housing about the air inlet;

an air filter assembly that seats with a friction fit within the filter housing, wherein the air filter assembly comprises a coarse filter and a high-efficiency particulate air filter that are serially arranged to receive ambient air and provide filtered air;

a blower that draws the filtered air and accelerates the filtered air to provide high speed filtered air; and

an ion generator that includes a high voltage wire grid through which the high speed filtered air passes to provide high speed sanitized air to the exit nozzle.

11. The sanitizing hand dryer of claim 10, wherein the dryer housing comprises a back surface having an opening therein through which the high speed filtered air passes to the blower, wherein an exterior surface of the back surface surrounding the opening includes a housing gasket that forms a seal between the dryer housing and the blower.

12. The sanitizing hand dryer of claim 11, wherein the air filter assembly comprises a filter gasket extending continuously along a peripheral exterior surface of the filter to seal against adjacent sidewall surfaces of the housing.

13. The sanitizing hand dryer of claim 10, wherein the housing comprises inwardly tapered parallel sidewalls which form a recess that receives the air filter.

14. The sanitizing hand dryer of claim 10, wherein the housing comprises inwardly tapered parallel sidewalls which form a recess that receives the air filter and taper inward from an exterior rim of the housing that forms the recess.

15. A sanitizing hand dryer, comprising:

a dryer housing having an inlet air channel and an outlet air channel;

a blower that draws air into the dryer housing through the inlet air channel, and directs the air out of the dryer housing through the outlet air channel; and

a sanitizing system that sanitizes the air within the inlet air channel and the air within the outlet air channel, wherein the sanitizing system within the inlet air channel includes at least one of a first air filter, a first ozone generator, a first sanitizing light source, a first photocatalytic oxidation system, a first ion generator, and a first electrostatic precipitator, and wherein the sanitizing system within the outlet air channel includes at least one of a second air filter, a second ozone generator, a second sanitizing light source, a second photocatalytic oxidation system, a second ion generator, and a second electrostatic precipitator.