Air purifier

• US 6,616,736 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2001
• Issued: 09/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hunter Fan Company
• Original Assignee: Hunter Fan Company
• Inventors: Bias, Larry S., Carbajal, Francisco J., Massey, Arthur
• Primary Examiner(s): Chiesa, Richard L.
• Application Number:
  US09/758,983
• Publication Number:
  US 20010029728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 966 Days
• Field of Search: 96/25, 96/63, 964/24, 96F/OR.167, 962/55, 961/15, 961/16, 961/03, 961/17, 96/26, 95/26
• US Class Current: 96/25
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2273/30 Means for generating a circulation of a fluid in a filtration system, e.g. using a pump or a fan
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/0028 provided with antibacterial or antifungal means
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/0086 Filter condition indicators
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/46 automatic
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/62 connected in series

Abstract

An air purifier (10) is provided having a housing (11) having a grilled air inlet (12), a grilled air outlet (13), and a control panel (14). The air purifier (10) also includes a pre-filter (16), a main filter (17), a blower (18) and a controller (19), all mounted within the housing (11). The controller (19) has a central processing unit having a permanent memory for storing the program instructions for operation and control of the air purifier, a working memory, and a non-volatile memory for the permanent storage of programs and counters. The controller is programmable so as to control the operation of the blower according to time and speed parameters entered into memory.

Claims

1. An air purifier comprising, in combination, a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a filter mounted within said housing between said air inlet and said air outlet, fan means for drawing air into said housing through said air inlet, through said filter and out of said housing through said air outlet, motor means for driving said fan means at a plurality of discrete speeds, and programmable control means for storing a plurality of preselected motor speeds and a plurality of preselected daily periods of time and automatically operating said motor means at different preselected speeds during different preselected daily periods of time.

2. The air purifier of claim 1 wherein said programmable control means automatically operates said motor means at different speeds during different daily periods of time for different days of the week.

3. The air purifier of claim 1 further comprising ionizing means for ionizing air passing through said air purifier, and wherein said control means also controls the automatic operation of said ionizing means.

4. An air purifier comprising:

a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet;

a variable speed electric motor;

a fan coupled to said electric motor;

an air filter mounted to extract impurities from an airstream passing from said air inlet to said air outlet; and

a controller having means for maintaining the current time, first memory means for storing a plurality of select programmable time intervals, second memory means for storing a plurality of select fan speeds associated with each said time interval, and means for automatically operating said electric motor during said select time intervals stored within said first memory means at said associated selected fan speed stored within said second memory means as the current time correlates to the time interval stored within said first memory means,

whereby the air purifier may be programmed to automatically operate the electric motor at different select speeds during different time intervals throughout a day.

5. The air purifier of claim 4 wherein said controller automatically operates said motor means at different speeds during different daily periods of time for different days of the week.

6. The air purifier of claim 4 further comprising ionizing means for ionizing air passing through said air purifier, and wherein said controller also controls the automatic operation of said ionizing means.

7. An air purifier comprising, in combination, a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a filter mounted within said housing between said air inlet and said air outlet, blower means for drawing air into said housing through said air inlet, through said filter and out of said housing through said air outlet, said blower means being capable of being driven at a plurality of discrete speeds, motor means for driving said blower means at said plurality of discrete speeds, and programmable control means for storing a plurality of preselected motor speeds and a plurality of preselected daily periods of time and automatically operating said motor means at different preselected speeds during different preselected programmed daily periods of time.

8. The air purifier of claim 7 wherein said programmable control means automatically operates said blower means at different speeds during different daily periods of time for different days of the week.

9. The air purifier of claim 7 further comprising ionizing means for ionizing air passing through said air purifier, and wherein said control means also controls the automatic operation of said ionizing means.