Air circulator and air filtration device

• US 4,526,592 A
• Filed: 08/26/1983
• Issued: 07/02/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Joseph M. Armbruster
• Original Assignee: Joseph M. Armbruster
• Inventors: Armbruster, Joseph M.
• Primary Examiner(s): LACEY, DAVID LYNN
• Application Number:
  US06/526,828
• Time in Patent Office: 676 Days
• Field of Search: 55/276, 55/316, 55/350, 55/385 A, 55/419, 55/470, 55/472, 55/DIG. 29, 98/33 A, 98/DIG. 10
• US Class Current: 96/121
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/12 transportable
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 7/003 in combination with air cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/10 by separation, e.g. by filtering
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/108 using dry filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 8/158 using active carbon
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 454/906 Noise inhibiting means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 55/29 Air curtains

Abstract

An air circulator and air filtration device for a room or other enclosed space supported in the corner thereof intermediate the floor and ceiling and including an upwardly opening top air inlet and a downwardly opening bottom air inlet with each inlet including a filter assembly and a pair of discharge outlets for discharging air horizontally in a path generally parallel to and adjacent the walls which intersect to form the corner in which the air circulator is mounted. The air circulator includes a single motor and an upper and lower blower assembly driven by the motor with the upper blower assembly communicating only with the upper air inlet and discharging toward one of the air outlets and the lower blower assembly communicating only with the bottom inlet and discharging toward the other of the outlets for maintaining a substantially constant and equal volume of air discharged along each of the intersecting walls of the room for effective circulation of air throughout the room and substantially eliminating temperature stratification in the room. Each air inlet filter assembly includes a foam pre-filter and an activated carbon filter for cleaning and purifying air being circulated.

Claims

1. An air circulator for providing circulation of air substantially throughout the total area of a room comprising a housing supported vertically at a corner of the room intermediate the floor and ceiling with the housing including an air inlet at the upper end portion thereof and an air inlet at the lower end portion thereof, said housing including a rear wall extending alongside of the surfaces of the walls which intersect to form the corner of the room and an air outlet along each opposite side portion thereof for discharging air in a horizontal direction generally parallel to and adjacent the surfaces of the walls which intersect to form the corner of the room, blower means interiorly of the housing for discharging substantially equal volumes of air from each outlet at substantially equal velocities.

2. The circulator as defined in claim 1 wherein said blower means includes a pair of independent blowers oriented one above the other within the housing, each blower having air inlet means communicating with the air inlets in said housing, motor means drivingly connected to said blowers with one blower having means discharging air toward one air outlet and the other blower having means discharging air toward the other air outlet.

3. The circulator as defined in claim 2 wherein said blowers are oriented in vertically spaced relation within the housing, said motor means including a motor disposed between the blowers and including an upwardly extending and downwardly extending drive shaft drivingly connected to the blowers.

4. The circulator as defined in claim 3 wherein each blower includes an impeller connected with the drive shaft, a housing for the impeller, said means discharging air from the blower comprising each impeller housing including a tangential discharge directed toward one of the outlets and said air inlet means for each blower comprising each impeller housing including an axial inlet opening aligned with an inlet in the air cirulator housing, each of said blowers being in the form of a squirrel cage blower.

5. The circulator as defined in claim 4 wherein said air circulator housing includes a pair of partition plates spaced inwardly from the upper and lower end thereof respectively with the impeller housings being secured to the partition plates.

6. The circulator as defined in claim 5 wherein the interior of the air circulator housing and at least one surface of each partition plate is provided with a coating of resilient material to reduce noise, and resilient material between each impeller housing and the partition plate and between the motor and each impeller housing for reducing vibration and noise produced by the air circulator.

7. The circulator as defined in claim 4 wherein each of said air outlets is vertically elongated and each impeller housing discharge is oriented in spaced, aligned and adjacent relation to one end of one of the air outlets and the air circulator housing to provide a positive pressure interiorly of the circulator housing for discharge of air throughout the vertical length of the air outlet with the higher velocity air being discharged from the air outlet in an area in alignment with the air discharged from the blower.

8. An air circulating device for providing circulation of air throughout substantially the total area of a room, comprising a housing defining an enclosed air chamber, a first upwardly facing top air inlet, a second downwardly facing bottom air inlet, first and second air outlets in said housing intermediate said top and bottom air inlets, blower means positioned within said air chamber intermediate said top and bottom air inlets, said blower means including vertically spaced impellers with a drive motor therebetween and drivingly connected thereto, each impeller being enclosed within an impeller housing, each impeller housing including a horizontally directed discharge, said first and second air outlets being positioned in outwardly facing diverging directions, one of said impeller housing discharges being spaced from and directed toward said first air outlets, the other of said impeller housing discharges being spaced from and directed toward said second air outlet whereby forced air discharged from said impeller housing discharges is directed toward and discharged from said first and second air outlets, respectively.

9. The air circulating device as defined in claim 8 wherein said air outlets are positioned alongside perpendicularly arranged walls adjacent a corner of the room to discharge air in directions generally paralleling said walls.

10. The air circulating device as defined in claim 9 wherein said air outlets are vertically elongated, said impeller housing discharges being directed toward an end portion of a respective air outlet for providing higher velocity air movement through the end portions of the air outlets with the space between the air outlets and impeller housing discharges pressurizing the enclosed air chamber, said air chamber defining housing including a pair of vertically spaced partitions spaced axially inwardly from the air inlets, each partition having an opening, each impeller housing having an inlet communicated with one of said partition openings.

11. In combination with a room including angularly disposed walls defining a corner of the room, an air circulator mounted in the corner of the room in vertically spaced relation to a floor and a ceiling, said air circulator including a vertically disposed housing having a hollow interior chamber with an upwardly facing air inlet and a downwardly facing air inlet communicating with the interior of the housing, said housing including vertically elongated outlets facing in divergent directions and generally discharging air in directions generally paralleling the room walls, said housing including vertically spaced horizontal partitions forming closures for the interior of the housing above said below the air outlets, each partition including an opening defining an air inlet communicating with the housing air inlets, air filtering means in each of the housing air inlets, a blower mounted on each of said partitions on the inward side thereof and having an inlet communicating with the opening in the partition, each blower including an air discharge directed toward one of the air outlets, means in said housing drivingly connected to the blowers for actuating the blowers for moving air from the air inlets to the air outlets, each blower air discharge including a discharge opening facing outwardly in the direction of one of said outlets and oriented in spaced relation thereto and in alignment with the end portion of the air outlet for discharging high velocity air toward the end portion of the air outlet and pressurizing the chamber for discharge of air throughout the length of the air outlets thereby providing air circulation throughout the length of the air outlets thereby providing air circulation throughout the room.

12. The combination as defined in claim 11 wherein said housing includes means supporting the housing from the corner of the room, said means driving the blowers including a single motor oriented between the blowers and including a drive shaft extending to and connected to each of the blowers.

13. The combination as defined in claim 12 wherein the interior of the housing is provided with a layer of resilient cushioning material for attentuating noise produced by the blowers and motor.

14. The combination as defined in claim 11 wherein each of said blowers includes an impeller and an impeller housing with each impeller housing having an inlet communicated with the opening in the partition and each impeller housing being secured to one of said partitions with the air inlets being isolated from the air outlet by the partitions having the openings therein communicated with the impeller housings.

15. The combination as defined in claim 11 wherein said air filtering means in each air inlet includes a prefilter panel of foam plastic material, a layer of activated charcoal inwardly of the foam material and a screen engaging the activated charcoal opposite to the foam layer to remove particulate material and purify the air passing therethrough.