Patent ID: 11898776
Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  F | IPC F

Claim 4:
5. A method of purifying air in an elevator cab using a housing including an inlet, an outlet, and a plurality of air pathways between the inlet and the outlet, wherein the elevator cab includes a plurality of vertically oriented walls between a floor and a ceiling, the housing is situated parallel to and against at least one of the plurality of vertically oriented walls along a substantial portion of a distance between the floor and the ceiling, the method comprising:
causing air flow into the housing through the inlet, through the housing, and out of the housing through the outlet, wherein the air flow through the housing includes air flow along one of the plurality of air pathways in a first direction and air flow along another one of the plurality of air pathways in a second direction that is opposite the first direction, and wherein causing the air flow comprises using a fan module comprising a plurality of fans; and
purifying air that flows along the plurality of air pathways by irradiating the air along a substantial length of the plurality of air pathways, respectively, before the air exits the housing through the outlet, and wherein air is purified via an air purifier comprising a radiation strip that extends from a first end of one of the air pathways adjacent a fan of the plurality of fans at the inlet and towards a second end of the one of the air pathways adjacent the outlet: and
wherein the elevator cab has a plurality of aesthetic raised panels on the plurality of vertically oriented walls and the housing is configured as one of the plurality of aesthetic raised panels;
wherein the housing includes a plurality of baffles that define the plurality of air pathways within the housing, and wherein the plurality of baffles are spaced apart from each other in a direction across a width of the at least one of the plurality of vertically oriented walls such that the plurality of air pathways comprise a series of vertical air pathways that each extend along the substantial portion of the distance between the floor and the ceiling, and
wherein the series of vertical air pathways comprise at least five vertical air pathways, and wherein:
a first fan of the plurality of fans is located in a first vertical air pathway of the at least five vertical air pathways adjacent to the inlet:
a second fan of the plurality of fans is located in a transition between a second vertical air pathway and a third vertical air pathway of the at least five vertical air pathways;

wherein the fan module comprises the first fan of the plurality of fans that is situated in the first vertical air pathway of the series of vertical air pathways;
the second fan of the plurality of fans is situated in the second vertical air pathway of the series of vertical air pathways: and
a third fan of the plurality of fans is located in a transition between a fourth vertical air pathway and a fifth vertical air pathway of the at least five vertical air pathways.