Automotive by-pass air cleaning and particulate motor vehicle interior air quality system
First Claim
1. Apparatus for improving air quality in an air circulation system of a vehicle, said air circulation system having a blower and supply and return ducts between the blower and the interior of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
- a treating module having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit, wherein said inlet conduit and outlet conduit are adapted to be connected into said circulation system upstream of said blower; and
at least one air decontaminant disposed within said treating module to contact air flowing through the treating module;
said treating module further comprising a bypass conduit that defines an air flow path that bypasses the treating module, wherein the bypass conduit has an inlet and an outlet.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are air circulation systems for vehicle heating and cooling system, especially for heating and cooling the passenger compartment and other pertinent compartments of motor vehicles, as well as trains, airplanes, etc. The invention more particularly concerns apparati and methods for improving the air quality in such systems through the use of filters for decontamination of air flows. The invention relates generally to apparati and methods for causing the air flow to pass through a decontamination module to clean the air. Preferred devices of the present invention controls the extent of such cleaning by a by-pass and damper arrangement, which apportions the flow between the module and the by-pass. Various bypass configurations having various flow characteristics are disclosed. The invention has application to both new vehicles as original equipment and older vehicles as added equipment.
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Citations
124 Claims
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1. Apparatus for improving air quality in an air circulation system of a vehicle, said air circulation system having a blower and supply and return ducts between the blower and the interior of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
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a treating module having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit, wherein said inlet conduit and outlet conduit are adapted to be connected into said circulation system upstream of said blower; and at least one air decontaminant disposed within said treating module to contact air flowing through the treating module; said treating module further comprising a bypass conduit that defines an air flow path that bypasses the treating module, wherein the bypass conduit has an inlet and an outlet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. Apparatus for removing contaminants from the air circulation system of a vehicle which circulates air to the passenger compartment of the vehicle comprising:
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a blower positioned within said air circulation system; supply and return ducts connecting said blower to the passenger compartment; an untreated air inlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system downstream of said blower and a treated air outlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system downstream of said blower; a treating module connected to said inlet conduit and said outlet conduit for treating air flowing there through; at least one air decontaminant disposed within said treating module to contact air flowing through the treating module; and a bypass conduit interconnecting said inlet and outlet conduits, wherein said bypass conduit is in parallel with said treating module and bypasses said treating module. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A treating assembly for removing contaminants from the air circulation system of a vehicle, such circulation system including a blower and supply and return ducts between the blower and the interior of the vehicle, the treating assembly comprising:
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a module adapted to contain an air decontaminant and having an inlet and an outlet; a prefilter interconnecting the inlet into the circulation system downstream of the blower; and an after filter interconnecting the outlet into the suction side of the blower. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of improving air quality in the air circulation system for heating and cooling the passenger compartment of a vehicle wherein the system includes a blower which circulates air through ductwork past an air cooling evaporator and a heater, said method comprising:
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(a) sensing the air stream for contaminants to generate a first signal indicative of the presence of excessive contaminants; (b) recycling at least a portion of the air stream from the blower discharge to the blower intake to bypass the remainder of said system in response to such first signal; (c) causing the recycled portion of the air stream to pass through at least one filter including at least one decontaminant prior to reaching the blower intake; (d) reducing the contamination of the recycled portion of the air stream prior to reaching the blower intake; (e) sensing the static pressure in the air stream downstream from the blower discharge to generate a second signal indicative of excessive static pressure; and (f) bypassing a sufficient portion of the recycled portion of the air stream around the decontamination step in response to said second signal to reduce such excessive pressure.
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39. Apparatus for improving air quality in an air circulation system of a vehicle, said air circulation system having a blower and supply and return ducts between the blower and the interior of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
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a treating module having an inlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system upstream or downstream of said blower, and an outlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system upstream or downstream of said blower; and at least one air decontaminant disposed within said treating module to contact air flowing through the treating module; said treating module further comprising a bypass conduit that defines an air flow path that bypasses the treating module, wherein the bypass conduit has an inlet adapted to be positioned upstream of the blower and an outlet adapted to be positioned downstream of the blower. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. Apparatus for improving air quality in an air circulation system of a vehicle, said air circulation system having a blower and supply and return ducts between the blower and the interior of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
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a treating module having an inlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system upstream or downstream of said blower, and an outlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system upstream or downstream of said blower; and at least one air decontaminant disposed within said treating module to contact air flowing through the treating module; said treating module further comprising a bypass conduit that defines an air flow path that bypasses the treating module, wherein the bypass conduit has an inlet and an outlet adapted to be positioned upstream of the blower. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 91, 108)
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75. Apparatus for improving air quality in an air circulation system of a vehicle, said air circulation system having a blower and supply and return ducts between the blower and the interior of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
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a treating module having an inlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system downstream of said blower, and an outlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system upstream of said blower; and at least one air decontaminant disposed within said treating module to contact air flowing through the treating module; said treating module further comprising a bypass conduit that defines an air flow path that bypasses the treating module, wherein the bypass conduit has an inlet and an outlet. - View Dependent Claims (76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90)
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92. Apparatus for removing contaminants from the air circulation system of a vehicle which circulates air to the passenger compartment of the vehicle comprising:
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a blower positioned within said air circulation system; supply and return ducts connecting said blower to the passenger compartment; an untreated air inlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system upstream of said blower, and a treated air outlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system downstream of said blower; a treating module connected to said inlet conduit and said outlet conduit for treating air flowing there through; at least one air decontaminant disposed within said treating module to contact air flowing through the treating module; and a bypass conduit interconnecting said inlet and outlet conduits, wherein said bypass conduit is in parallel with said treating module and bypasses said treating module. - View Dependent Claims (93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107)
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109. Apparatus for removing contaminants from the air circulation system of a vehicle which circulates air to the passenger compartment of the vehicle comprising:
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a blower positioned within said air circulation system; supply and return ducts connecting said blower to the passenger compartment; an untreated air inlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system downstream of said blower, and a treated air outlet conduit adapted to be connected into said circulation system upstream of said blower; a treating module connected to said inlet conduit and said outlet conduit for treating air flowing there through; at least one air decontaminant disposed within said treating module to contact air flowing through the treating module; and a bypass conduit interconnecting said inlet and outlet conduits, wherein said bypass conduit is in parallel. - View Dependent Claims (110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124)
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Specification