Abstract:
An air cleaning system comprising the means to displace air, contact the displaced air with a liquid, exhaust the cleaned air, and discharge the used liquid; and the means to clean the used liquid, heat or cool the liquid, impart a charge to the liquid, and displace and direct the liquid whereby indoor air is cleaned and indoor air temperature is controlled.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    Not applicable.  
         STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Not applicable.  
         REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX  
         [0003]    Not applicable.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    Currently, indoor air cleaning systems primarily use filters to directly clean indoor air and all air filtering systems suffer from a number of disadvantages. They do not maximize the proportion of air in a room that is cleaned because their low-height designs do not optimally facilitate the circulation of the air in the room. They operate at low air flow rates and do not optimize cleaning performance with respect to the number of times that the air in the room is exchanged over a given amount of time. They lack scalability because an air cleaning system using a filter to directly clean air is limited in design to the cross-sectional area of the filter and to the maximum flow rate of air that the filter can handle. Further, indoor air cleaning systems do not provide the means to heat or cool the air that is being cleaned. Finally, expensive filters must be replaced frequently because the amount of air being cleaned decreases over time as impurities are collected by the filter.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    My invention removes impurities from indoor air by washing the air with water. The used water is subsequently cleaned, heated or cooled, and reused. Several objects and advantages of my air cleaning system are to maximize the proportion of air in a room that is cleaned; to operate at a high capacity; to provide greater scalability to an air cleaning system; to provide the means to heat or cool the air that is being cleaned; and to continuously operate at the optimum capacity. Further objects and advantages are to reduce the costs of operating and maintaining an air cleaning system and to reduce indoor heating and cooling costs.  
         REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS  
         [0006]    [0006]                                               2   vent   4   air washing mechanism       6   media container   8   reservoir       10   air slots in vent   12   hole in side near bottom                   of vent       14   notch with thread   16   notch with groove       18   stem   20   blade       22   conduit   24   perforations in hollow                   portion of blade       26   grates in solid portion of blade   28   perforations in mechanism       30   slot in annulus   32   annulus       34   hole in mechanism   36   water line       38   perforations in bottom of container   40   hole in reservoir       42   hole in reservoir   44   valve       46   removable access panel   48   slots in reservoir       50   fill line in reservoir   52   grooves along main axis                   of surface                    
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The present embodiment of my invention is presented in FIGS. 1 through 6. FIG. 1 shows the rear view of the elements of the air washing system interconnected. The front and side views of the system are unremarkable. FIG. 2 shows the top view of the air washing system and denotes the view of the cross sections presented in FIGS. 3 through 6. FIG. 3 shows the vent  2 ; FIG. 4 shows the air washing mechanism  4 ; FIG. 5 shows the media container  6 ; and FIG. 6 shows the reservoir  8 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]    As shown in FIG. 1 the elements are generally cylindrical. To improve visual appeal and to promote assembly, the exterior surfaces of the elements contain grooves  52  along the main axis of the assemblage. An element is connected to another element by threading a contiguous thread on a notch in the element through a contiguous groove in a notch in the other element.  
         [0009]    An air vent  2  (FIG. 3) distributes cleaned air upward and outward throughout 360 degrees to promote circulation of air within a room. The top of the vent  2  is solid and there are slots  10  in the vent  2 . The power cord for a fan (not shown) passes through a hole  12 . The bottom of the vent  2  is open and conforms to the uniform means of connecting elements of the system  14  and connects onto an air washing mechanism  4 .  
         [0010]    The air washing mechanism  4  (FIG. 4) contains a solid stem  18  and a contiguous blade  20  wherein the revolutions of the blade  20  about the stem  18  form a conduit  22 . Air enters the conduit  22  through a slot  30  in a cocentric annulus  32  in the stem  18 . Cleaned air exits the mechanism  4  through the conduit  22  to the vent  2 . One revolution of the blade  20  is hollow and both the top and the bottom of the blade  20  are solid so that water is contained. Water enters the blade  20  through a hole  34  coupled to a quick-connect fitting. The quick-connect fitting is attached to a quick-connect fitting on a water line  36 . Two revolutions of the blade  20  are hollow and the top of the blade  20  is solid and the bottom of the blade  20  is perforated  24  so that water flows from the mechanism  4  by the forces of gravity and the static pressure head of the water. One revolution of the blade  20  is solid and grated  26  to allow the used water to trickle downward. And one revolution of the blade  20  terminates contiguous with the mechanism  4  and has perforations  28  so that water is discharged. The mechanism  4  proscribes to the uniform means of connecting elements of the system  14  and  16  and connects onto a container  6 .  
         [0011]    The container  6  (FIG. 5) contains one or more media through which water from the mechanism  4  flows and wherein impurities removed from the air are removed from the water. Air passes through the container  6  through a cocentric annulus  32  to the mechanism  4 . The top of the container  6  is open and the bottom of the container  6  is perforated  38  so that the cleaned water trickles from the container  6 . The container  6  conforms to the uniform means of connecting elements of the system  14  and  16  and connects onto a reservoir  8 .  
         [0012]    The reservoir  8  (FIG. 6) conforms to the uniform means of connecting elements of the system  16 . The top of the reservoir  8  is open and the bottom of the reservoir  8  is solid to contain water. A pump inside the reservoir (not shown) pumps water through a line in the reservoir  8  through a hole  40  in the reservoir  8 . The hole  40  and the line are coupled by a washer mechanism (not shown) to prevent leakage and the portion of the line protruding from the hole  40  in the reservoir  8  is the water line  36  to the mechanism  4 . A quick-connect fitting is attached to the end of the water line  36 . A water chiller (not shown) and a water heater (not shown) maintain the temperature of the water in the reservoir  8  within at a set temperature range so that the air cleaning system is able to continuously warm or cool the air that it cleans. The power cords exit the reservoir  8  through a hole  42  in the reservoir  8  and the cords and the hole  42  are coupled by a washer mechanism (not shown) to prevent leakage. A drain valve  44  can be used to manually withdraw water from the reservoir  8 . A removable access panel  46  provides access to the contents of the reservoir  8  without disconnecting the assembly. Slots  48  in the reservoir  8  allow air to be withdrawn from the room throughout 360 degrees. Air passes through the reservoir through a cocentric annulus  32  to the container  6 . Cocentric fill lines  50  about the annulus  32  denote the maximum and minimum water levels for the reservoir  8 . Portability is promoted by mounting wheels or coasters (not shown) along the bottom circumference of the reservoir  8 .  
         [0013]    Other embodiments of my invention will force the air through the system whereas the presented imbodiment pulls air through the system. Other embodiments of my invention will be designed to automatically maintain the appropriate water level in the reservoir and to impart a slight electrical charge to the water.  
         [0014]    The manner of setting up and operating the system follows. First, place the reservoir  8  at the desired location in the room. Place a predetermined amount of water into the reservoir  8 . Insert the access panel  46  into the reservoir  8 . Place predetermined amounts of pollutant removing media into the container  6 . Place notch  14  of the container  6  into notch  16  of the reservoir  8  and thread the container  6  onto the reservoir  8 . Place notch  14  of the air washing mechanism  4  into notch  16  of the container  6  and thread the mechanism  4  onto the container  6 . Place notch  14  of the vent  2  into notch  16  of the mechanism  4  and thread the vent  2  onto the mechanism  4 . Attach the water line  36  to the quick connect fitting  34  of the mechanism  4 . Connect the power cords for the pump, fan, chiller, and heater to a power source. Turn on the pump. Turn on the fan. Set the theromstat to the desired temperature.  
         [0015]    The manner of regularly maintaining the system follows. Turn off the pump, fan, chiller, and heater. Allow the water to trickle into the reservoir  8 . Remove and clean the vent  2 . Disconnect the water line  36  from the mechanism  4 . Remove and clean the mechanism  4 . Remove the container  6 , discard the used media, and add new media to the container  6 . Place the water line  36  into a drain, turn on the pump, and pump most of the water in the reservoir  8  into the drain. Turn off the pump. Discard the remaining water in the reservoir  8  using the manual valve  44 . Add fresh liquid to the reservoir  8 . Reassemble and operate the system as previously described.  
         [0016]    From the description above, a number of advantages of my air cleaning system over systems that directly filter air are evident. My invention can maximize the proportion of the air in a room that is cleaned; operate at a high capacity; provide greater scalability to an air cleaning system; provide a means to heat or cool the air that is being cleaned; and maintain a constant rate of clean air delivery. The system can reduce the cost of operating an air cleaning system by using less energy, increasing the time of operation between regular maintenance, and decreasing the cost of replacement media. The system can also reduce indoor air heating and cooling costs.  
         [0017]    My invention can be scaled to meet either household or commercial needs such as delivering clean, disinfected air in a medical setting or delivering warm or cool air to rooms, homes, offices, and buildings. My invention can be used in many applications with the appropriate changes in the dimensions, materials of construction, pollutant removal media, and the liquid(s) used. Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of my invention but as merely providing an illustration of the presently preferred embodiment of my invention.