AIR PURIFIER INCLUDING BI-DIRECTIONAL FANS HAVING DIFFERENT DISCHARGE DIRECTIONS

• US 20200129909A1
• Filed: 06/19/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Coway Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Coway Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: HONG, Hyun Jin, KANG, Sang Woo, CHO, An Ho
• Granted Patent: US 11,684,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/0047 for discharging the filtered gas
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 17/162 Double suction pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/10 the unit having provisions for automatically changing direction of output air
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/16 Combinations of two or more pumps ; Producing two or more separate gas flows
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/166 using fans
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 27/004 by varying driving speed
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/422 Discharge tongues F04D17/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/424 Double entry casings
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/4246 comprising more than one outlet
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/701 especially adapted for elastic fluid pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2250/52 Outlet
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 1/0033 having two or more fans
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/77 by controlling the speed of ventilators
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 13/10 movable, e.g. dampers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 13/20 Casings or covers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2013/205 Mounting a ventilator fan therein
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 3/14 by humidification; by dehumidification
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 6/12 by forming water dispersions in the air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/10 by separation, e.g. by filtering
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/80 Self-contained air purifiers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 : Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

The present invention provides an air purifier including a plurality of bi-directional fans, which are arranged to be misaligned in a vertical direction such that the discharge directions of discharge ports are different from each other.

Claims

1. An air purifier comprising:

a plurality of bi-directional fans, which are arranged to be misaligned in a vertical direction such that discharge directions of discharge ports are different from each other.

2. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the bi-directional fans include an upper bi-directional fan and a lower bi-directional fan, and

a discharge port of the upper bi-directional fan faces upward, and a discharge port of the lower bi-directional fan is inclined from the vertical direction to face towards one side from upper portion.

3. The air purifier according to claim 2, wherein air discharged from the upper bi-directional fan is discharged toward an upper portion of the air purifier, and

air discharged from the lower bi-directional fan is selectively discharged toward the upper portion of the air purifier or discharged toward one side of the air purifier.

4. The air purifier according to claim 3, wherein the discharge port of the lower bi-directional fan is in communication with a flow path provided on one side of the air purifier, and a flow path switching member is provided on the flow path.

5. The air purifier according to claim 4, wherein the flow path is in communication with an upper discharge port positioned on an upper side of the air purifier and a side discharge port positioned on a side of the air purifier.

6. The air purifier according to claim 5, wherein, when the flow path switching member is in a first position, the discharge port of the lower bi-directional fan is in communication with the upper discharge port, and

when the flow path switching member is in a second position, the discharge port of the lower bi-directional fan is in communication with the side discharge port.

7. The air purifier according to claim 6, wherein, in the first position, the flow path switching member closes the side discharge port.

8. The air purifier according to claim 6, wherein the discharge port of the upper bi-directional fan is in communication with the upper discharge port.

9. The air purifier according to claim 8, wherein, when the flow path switching member is in the first position, air from the upper bi-directional fan and air from the lower bi-directional fan are discharged through the upper discharge port, and

when the flow path switching member is in the second position, the air from the upper bi-directional fan is discharged through the upper discharge port and the air from the lower bi-directional fan is discharged through the side discharge port.

10. The air purifier according to claim 5, wherein RPMs of the upper bi-directional fan and the lower bi-directional fan are independently controlled.

11. The air purifier according to claim 10, wherein, in the air purifier, the flow path switching member is controlled such that air from the lower bi-directional fan is discharged to the upper discharge port in fine dust purification mode or remote purification mode, and RPM of the upper bi-directional fan is controlled to be further increased.

12. The air purifier according to claim 10, wherein, in the air purifier, the flow path switching member is controlled such that air from the lower bi-directional fan is discharged to the upper discharge port in a large dust purification mode or a near-zone purification mode, and RPM of the lower bi-directional fan is controlled to be further increased.

13. The air purifier according to claim 10, wherein, in the air purifier, the flow path switching member is controlled such that air from the lower bi-directional fan is discharged to the side discharge port in a multi-room purification mode or a cooling mode.

14. The air purifier according to claim 4, wherein the flow path switching member is controlled in accordance with RPM of the lower bi-directional fan.

15. The air purifier according to claim 4, wherein, when the flow path switching member is operated upward to cross the flow path, RPM of the lower bi-directional fan is increased.

16. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the discharge directions of the discharge ports of the plurality of bi-directional fans are different from each other, and bi-directional intake ports of the plurality of bi-directional fans are positioned on left and right side of the air purifier.

17. The air purifier according to claim 3, wherein a first intake port of the upper bi-directional fan and a first intake port of the lower bi-directional fan are positioned on one side of the air purifier, and

a second intake port of the upper bi-directional fan and a second intake port of the lower bi-directional fan are positioned on the other side of the air purifier.

18. The air purifier according to claim 17, wherein any one of a dehumidification module and a humidification module is positioned outside the first intake port of the upper bi-directional fan, the second intake port of the upper bi-directional fan, the first intake port of the lower bi-directional fan, and the second intake port of the lower bi-directional fan, respectively.

19. The air purifier according to claim 17, wherein a flow path blocking member is positioned outside the first intake port of the upper bi-directional fan, the second intake port of the upper bi-directional fan, the first intake port of the lower bi-directional fan, and the second intake port of the lower bi-directional fan, respectively.

20. The air purifier according to claim 17, wherein one filter is positioned over the first intake port of the upper bi-directional fan and the first intake port of the lower bi-directional fan, the other filter is positioned over the second intake port of the upper bi-directional fan and the second intake port of the lower bi-directional fan, and a filter frame is positioned only on outermost sides of the filters.