Abstract:
Combining a HEPA air filtration system and a central vacuum system obtains a synergistic effect of cleaning air particulates in a room. The particulate count of the current invention provides an unexpectedly low result that can at best be described as synergistic.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention is directed to HEPA system that cleans particulates from the air and the floor simultaneously. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Vacuum Cleaners 
       [0002]    Vacuum cleaners include a vacuum cleaner housing interconnected to a floor sweeper. The floor sweeper is formed with a nozzle opening and may include an agitator mounted therein for loosening dirt and debris from a floor surface. A motor may be mounted to either the foot or the housing for producing suction at the nozzle opening. The suction at the nozzle opening picks up the loosened dirt and debris and produces a stream of dirt-laden air which is ducted into the housing. In particular, the dirty air is directed into a collection bag which traps most dust and other particles in a bag made of conventional materials including paper, polymers, meshes, and woven fabrics known to those skilled in the art. After the air passes through the collection bag, the air escapes to the ambient environment through an exhaust system. That vacuum cleaner description is applicable for many vacuum cleaners—conventional upright vacuums and central vacuum systems. 
         [0003]    In many central vacuum systems, like Eureka&#39;s Yellow Jacket system, the air exhausts to the outside ambient environment through a conduit. Exhausting air into the outside ambient environment is not always possible or permitted. For example, a central vacuum system is normally not installed in hospital settings, hotels, and apartment complexes because the exhausted air may (a) be contaminated with hazardous conditions (for example viral or bacteria environment), and/or (b) contain too many particulates which may violate, for example, EPA compliance. 
         [0004]    To confirm the too many particulate issue, the applicant measured the air borne particulates in a conventional sized room, 15′×30′, with a conventional particle reader, for example and not limited to a Met One Laser Particle counter calibrated for readings of 0.3 microns and greater (see http://www.metone.com/particulate.htm). The particle reader was positioned (a) on a conventional end table in the middle of the room prior to Eureka&#39;s Yellow Jacket central vacuum system being turned on (known as “Ambient Room”); and (b) in Eureka&#39;s Yellow Jacket central vacuum system&#39;s exhausts system (known as “Vacuum Exhaust Chamber”). The results were as followed: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Condition 
                 Particle Count 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Ambient Room 
                 297,400 
               
               
                   
                 Vacuum Exhaust Chamber 
                 9,999,999 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0005]    Those particle count results may be why Eureka recommends its exhaust system release its air to the outside environment instead of containing the air in the room. At the same time, that particulate count from certain environments may not be permissible exhausted particulate values. 
         [0006]    In view of the particle count in the vacuum exhaust chamber, there has been interest to lower the particulates in vacuum cleaner systems. 
         [0007]    In U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,824, Wen discloses an upright vacuum cleaner. That upright vacuum cleaner includes a housing, a floor sweeper, a pair of wheels, an intake opening, an exhaust port, and a handle. The housing divides into upper and lower sections, which cover the internal mechanism of the vacuum, including fan or blower, motor, collection bag, and a supplemental filtration system. By depressing a switch, contaminated or particle laden air positioned exclusively near the intake opening (that air is referred to as “Air A”) enters the upright vacuum through intake opening and is carried by a conduit into a collection bag, which traps most dust and other particles in a bag made of conventional materials including paper, polymers, meshes, and woven fabrics known to those skilled in the art. 
         [0008]    The Air A continues through opening in baffle into filtration cartridge or canister. The filtration cartridge or canister includes a passive stage to filter out remaining particles and biological contaminants over a predetermined size (such as 0.3 micron particles); e.g., particles trapped by a HEPA filter. Air A continues through the active stage, which includes one or more agents effective to destroy any bacteria, spores, viruses, or other untrapped biological contaminants, as well as UV or other radiation source capable of sterilizing a given volume of air passing through, or creating ozone to add to the antiseptic effect. Filter unit may be replaced when filled or inactive. After passing through the passive stage, the Air A presumably contains no contaminants, and may return to the atmosphere through the exhaust port, filtering out ozone through water, a metallic mesh, or by use of a catalytic agent to render the ozone inert. The upright vacuum may include additional intake tools such as hoses, wands and the like attachable through a retractable port, which enters through the intake opening. 
         [0009]    A similar vacuum system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,388 to Zeren which is used to pick up hazardous materials. 
         [0010]    Problems with Wen&#39;s and Zeren&#39;s vacuum system are that Wen&#39;s and Zeren&#39;s alleged HEPA vacuum system fails to clean the particulates in the air positioned away from the intake opening. That failure is applicable for central vacuum systems as well. The air around the intake opening is the only air that is drawn into the vacuum system and is the only air cleaned in such vacuum systems. That limited application can create a room with unacceptable particulate counts. 
       HEPA Air Filtration Systems 
       [0011]    Americair, Inc., the assignee of this application, is the manufacturer of its AIRWASH HEPA air filtration system. There are three stages of filtration in the AIRWASH air filtration system having a housing. The housing has an air inlet and an air outlet, and within the housing is a fan/motor and a HEPA filtration system. The fan/motor draws air through (a) the air inlet which can have a pre-filter apparatus, (b) a foam pre-filter that removes larger particulates such as dust and dander, (c) high efficiency particulate removal filter media that is laser tested to remove 99.97% of the particles in the air stream down to a size of 0.3 mincrons—particles of concern which are normally in this size range include pollen, household dust, cigarette smoke, bacteria, molds, etc.; (d) an inner blanket (which can be like  1 / 2  inch) of activated carbon impregnated with non-woven polyester filter material which absorbs additional gaseous contaminants such as odors and toxic fumes; and (e) the air outlet. 
         [0012]    The AIRWASH air filtration system can cleanse up to 1,000 cubic feet of air per minute. The applicant conducted a particulate study that compared the number of particulates in a 15′×30′ room prior to operating its AIRWASH air filtration system (referred to as “Ambient Room”) and after its AIRWASH air filtration system operated for 20 minutes (referred to as “20 min Operating”), wherein the particle reader, identified above, was positioned on a conventional end table in the middle of the room. The results are as follows: 
         [0000]                                            Condition   Particle Count                           Ambient Room   297,400           20 min Operating   166,400                        
A problem with the AIRWASH air filtration system is that it does not obtain the particulates attached, secured, bound, or trapped to the floor surface—carpets, polymeric flooring or natural flooring. Accordingly there are still particulates in the room that should be removed.
 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    The current invention is a combination of a HEPA air filtration system and a central vacuum system to obtain a synergistic effect of cleaning air particulates in a room. The particulate count of the current invention provided an unexpectedly low result that can at best be described as synergistic. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates the rear view of a combined HEPA air filtration system and a central vacuum system  10 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates the front view of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a top view of  FIG. 1  with the hinge door  18  removed. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along the lines  4 - 4 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along the lines  5 - 5  and including a conventional central vacuum tool connected to the housing  12 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 5  taken along the lines  6 - 6 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along the lines  7 - 7 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along the lines  8 - 8 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]      FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate a combined HEPA air filtration system and a central vacuum system  10 . The “combined HEPA air filtration system and central vacuum system”  10  has a housing  12 . The housing  12  can be any material sturdy enough to contain a HEPA air filtration system  100  (illustrated in  FIG. 3 ) and a central vacuum system  200  (illustrated in  FIG. 3 ). An example of the housing material is a metal cabinet that is durable and emits no toxins. The housing  12  is normally shaped like a cube and when it is cubed-shaped, the housing  12  has a top surface  30 , a bottom surface  32 , a front side  34 , a rear side  36 , a left side  38 , and right side  40 . 
         [0023]    The housing  12  has
       an air inlet  14  for the HEPA air filtration system  100  positioned on at least one of the sides  34 ,  36  (as illustrated but not limited to that surface),  38 ,  40  and/or top surface  30 ;   an air outlet  17  for the HEPA air filtration system  100  positioned on at least one of the sides  34 ,  36 ,  38  (as illustrated but not limited to that surface),  40 , bottom surface  32  and/or top surface  30 ;   an inlet valve  16  for the central vacuum system  200  positioned on at least one of the sides  34 ,  36  (as illustrated but not limited to that surface),  38 , and/or  40 ;   a hinge door  18  on the top surface  30  (as illustrated) or one of the sides  34 ,  36  to allow a person to
           (a) inspect the HEPA air filtration system  100  and/or the central vacuum system  200 ,   (b) replace components of or the whole (i) HEPA air filtration system  100  and/or (ii) central vacuum system  200 ;   
           a conventional power switch  20  positioned on at least one of the sides  34 ,  36  (as illustrated but not limited to that surface),  38 ,  40  and/or top surface  30  to turn on or off (i) the HEPA air filtration system  100  and/or (ii) the central vacuum system  200 ; and   a power supply outlet  22  positioned on at least one of the sides  34 ,  36  (as illustrated but not limited to that surface),  38 ,  40  and/or top surface  30  to interconnect the HEPA air filtration system  100  and/or the central vacuum system  200  to a conventional electrical outlet.       
 
         [0032]      FIG. 3  is a top view of  FIG. 1  with the hinge door  18  removed. The housing  12  has an interior  50 . The interior  50  is divided into a HEPA air filtration section  52  and a central vacuum section  54 . The sections  52 ,  54  are distinguished by a wall  56 . The wall  56  has an opening  58 , see  FIG. 4 , that allows the central vacuum unit&#39;s  200  exhaust to enter the HEPA air filtration section  52 . As illustrated, the air inlet  14  for the HEPA air filtration system  100  is positioned on at least one of the sides  34 ,  36  (as illustrated but not limited to that surface),  38 ,  40  and/or top surface  30  and within the HEPA air filtration section  52 . Similarly, the air outlet  17  for the HEPA air filtration system  100  is positioned on at least one of the sides  34 ,  36 ,  38  (as illustrated but not limited to that surface),  40 , bottom surface  32  and/or top surface  30  and within the HEPA air filtration section  52 . Likewise, the inlet valve  16  for the central vacuum system  200  is positioned on at least one of the sides  34 ,  36  (as illustrated but not limited to that surface),  38 , and/or  40  and within the central vacuum section  54 . 
       Central Vacuum Unit  200   
       [0033]    The central vacuum unit  200  is a conventional central vacuum unit, for example and not limited to Eureka&#39;s Yellow Jacket central vacuum unit, as illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The central vacuum unit  200  includes the inlet valve  16 , a main tubing header  202  from the inlet valve  16  to a power unit  204 , a conventional central vacuum tool(s)  300  and the power unit  204 . The power unit  204  has a main pipe inlet  206  that receives the main tubing header  202 , a fan/motor  208  (in phantom line), a collection unit  210  (in phantom line), a power inlet  212  (interconnected to the power supply outlet  22  and the power switch  20 ) and an exhaust outlet  214 . 
         [0034]    Conventional central vacuum tools  300  interconnect to the power unit  204  through the inlet valve  16 . An example of the conventional central vacuum tool(s)  300  includes and is not limited to a powerbrush unit. A powerbrush unit is formed with a nozzle opening  302  and may include an agitator  304  mounted therein for loosening dirt and debris from a floor surface. 
         [0035]    The fan/motor  208  produces suction at the nozzle opening  302 . The suction at the nozzle opening  302  picks up the loosened dirt and debris from the flooring (carpet, natural flooring, and/or polymeric flooring) and produces a stream of dirt-laden air which is ducted into the power unit  204  through a powerbrush conduit  306 , the inlet valve  16 , the main tubing header  202 , and the main pipe inlet  206 . In particular, the dirty air is directed into the collection unit  210  which traps most dust and other particles in a bag (and/or filter) made of conventional materials including paper, polymers, meshes, and woven fabrics known to those skilled in the art. After the air passes through the collection bag, the air is released through the exhaust outlet  214  in the housing&#39;s interior  50 , in particular in the central vacuum section  54 , and towards the HEPA air filtration section  52 . 
         [0036]    Most of the above-identified operation of how the central vacuum unit  200  operates is in the public domain in relation to this patent application. What is novel in this application is that the exhausted air is released in the interior of a housing (contrary to the teachings of how to use the central vacuum unit by its manufacturers) and the power unit  204  is contained in a housing that accommodates the HEPA air filtration device  100  and the power unit  204  and not much more, which again contrary to the instructions for the manufacturer of the central vacuum units. 
         [0037]    Recall the applicant measured the air borne particulates in a conventional sized room, 15′×30′ (which can be smaller or larger) with a conventional particle reader, for example and not limited to a Met One Laser Particle counter calibrated for readings of 0.3 microns and greater (see http://www.metone.com/particulate.htm). The particle reader was positioned (a) on a conventional end table in the middle of the room prior to Eureka&#39;s Yellow Jacket central vacuum system being turned on (known as “Ambient Room”); and (b) in Eureka&#39;s Yellow Jacket central vacuum system&#39;s exhaust outlet  214  (known as “Vacuum Exhaust Chamber”). The results were as followed: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Condition 
                 Particle Count 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Ambient Room 
                 297,400 
               
               
                   
                 Vacuum Exhaust Chamber 
                 9,999,999 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0038]    Those particle count results may be why Eureka recommends its exhaust system release its air to the outside environment. The present invention however wants to keep those particulates in the housing&#39;s interior  50 . 
       HEPA Air Filtration System  100   
       [0039]    The HEPA air filtration  100  receives (a) the air released from the central vacuum&#39;s exhaust outlet  214  and (b) the ambient air in the room. The ambient air in the room enters the HEPA air filtration device  100  through the air inlet  14 ; while the air released from the central vacuum&#39;s exhaust outlet  214  is directed toward the HEPA air filtration system  100  through the wall&#39;s opening  58 . 
         [0040]    Both (a) the air released from the central vacuum&#39;s exhaust outlet  214  and (b) the ambient air in the room are drawn into the HEPA air filtration device  100  by the HEPA air filtration device&#39;s fan/motor  102 . The fan/motor  102  draws the air through (a) a foam pre-filter  104  that removes larger particulates such as dust and dander, (b) high efficiency particulate removal filter media  106  that is laser tested to remove 99.97% of the particles in the air stream down to a size of 0.3 microns—particles of concern which are normally in this size range include pollen, household dust, cigarette smoke, bacteria, molds, etc.; (c) an inner blanket  108  (which can be like ½ inch) of activated carbon impregnated with non-woven polyester filter material which absorbs additional gaseous contaminants such as odors and toxic fumes; and (d) HEPA air filtration device&#39;s air outlet  110  to the system&#39;s  10  air outlet  17 . The air that is released from the system&#39;s  10  air outlet  17  into the room that the system  10  is positioned therein, not an environment outside the room. 
         [0041]    Recall the AIRWASH air filtration system, by itself, can cleanse up to 1,000 cubic feet of air per minute. The applicant conducted a particulate study that compared the number of particulates in a 15′×30′ room prior to operating its AIRWASH air filtration system (referred to as “Ambient Room”) and after its AIRWASH air filtration system operated for 20 minutes (referred to as “20 min Operating”), wherein the particle reader, identified above, was positioned on a conventional end table in the middle of the room. The results were as follows: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Condition 
                 Particle Count 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 Ambient Room 
                 297,400 
               
               
                   
                 20 min Operating 
                 166,400 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       Synergistic Effect 
       [0042]    The synergistic effect of the “combined HEPA air filtration system and central vacuum system”  10  are as follows:
       1. The system  10  cleans at least double the amount of air in cubic feet per minute that a comparable AIRWASH air filtration system can handle.   2. The system  10  cleans more than double the amount of air in cubic feet per minute that any vacuum cleaner can, and/or HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner.   3. The applicant conducted a particulate study that compared the number of particulates in a 15′×30′ (which could have been smaller and/or larger) room prior to operating its “combined HEPA air filtration system and central vacuum system”  10  (referred to as “Ambient Room”) and after its “combined HEPA air filtration system and central vacuum system”  10  operated for  20  minutes (referred to as “20 min Synergistic Effect”), wherein the particle reader, identified above, was positioned on a conventional end table in the middle of the room. The results are as follows:       
 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Condition 
                 Particle Count 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 Ambient Room 
                 297,400 
               
               
                   
                 20 min Synergistic Effect 
                 0 to 100 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0046]    The incredibly low particle counts of 0 to 100 (less than 100,000, less than 50,000, less than 10,000, less than  5 , 000 ) can not be explained by a simple combination of these two known devices. As such it must be determined these particle counts are a synergistic effect of these two known devices being combined in a single housing unit. 
         [0047]    To further confirm the synergistic effect, it should be noted that Eureka (and other central vacuum cleaner manufacturers) in its operation manual clearly discloses that its central vacuum product should not be positioned in confined spaces, like a housing, and in particular wrote, “DO NOT exhaust into a concealed area” like a housing. Despite those negative teachings, the applicant discovered it can significantly and synergistically decrease the particulate counts in a room by combining these two known machines in a manner that should be adverse to at least one of the manufacturer&#39;s explicit instructions to the proper use of the device. 
       Alternative Embodiment 
       [0048]    The housing  12  can be on a cart  500  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . That way the “combined HEPA air filtration system and central vacuum system”  10  can be transported from room to room to obtain the desired particle count in each room. 
         [0049]    It is intended that the above description of the preferred embodiments of the structure of the present invention and the description of its operation are but one or two enabling best mode embodiments for implementing the invention. Other modifications and variations are likely to be conceived of by those skilled in the art upon a reading of the preferred embodiments and a consideration of the appended claims and drawings. These modifications and variations still fall within the breadth and scope of the disclosure of the present invention.