Patent Publication Number: US-2005135976-A1

Title: Chemical dispensing apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      An apparatus to dispense chemical for the purpose of reducing or eliminating odor causing microorganisms as well as mold, mildew and bacterial growth.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      Typically, mold, mildew and other undesirable microorganisms are present throughout air conditioning and heating systems together with the conditioned space, depending on several different conditions that may be more prevalent at certain time than others.  
      Currently in the market and over several decades as recorded in numerous prior arts, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,436, various air conditioning systems have been designed to selectively introduce water or agent, such as germicide, deodorant, medication into air circulated through the air conditioning or heating system at predetermined intervals of time for predetermined periods of time. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,771 shows aroma spraying mechanism utilizing pressurized dispenser; U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,886 discloses an air treatment apparatus utilizing interchangeable cassettes and distributed via an electrical pump and U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,941 discloses an automated aerosol mist dispenser utilizing a timer to introduce product. All of these prior arts directly dispense chemical or water at predetermined intervals of time with limiting control of the quantity of the dispensed fluid.  
      In contrast, the present invention utilizes a feedback mechanism to provide a means for monitoring operating conditions and controlling the amount of chemicals dispersed.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a chemical dispensing apparatus for use in combination with an air handler to reduce or eliminate airborne contaminants from a conditioned space comprising a chemical supply section and a dispensing control section.  
      The chemical supply section comprises a chemical reservoir and a chemical delivery section to selectively dispense a chemical into the air stream. The chemical delivery section comprises a chemical dispensing device coupled to the chemical reservoir through a chemical flow control to selectively control the flow of chemical from the chemical reservoir to the air handler.  
      The dispensing control section comprises a microprocessor control including a display to provide a visual display of the system status and a plurality of control keys or actuators to selectively control the frequency and duration of the chemical dispensing cycle.  
      When the chemical dispensing apparatus is in use, the contaminated air stream is drawn into the air handler where the chemical is injected. The treated air stream is then drawn through an evaporator and a blower to be discharged into the conditioned space.  
      The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      For a fuller understanding of the nature and object of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of the chemical dispensing apparatus of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an alternate embodiment of the chemical dispensing apparatus of the present invention. 
    
    
      Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , the present invention relates to a chemical dispensing apparatus generally indicated as  10  for use in combination with an air handler  12  of an air conditioning or heating system to reduce or eliminate airborne contaminants from a contaminated air stream  14 . The chemical dispensing apparatus  10  comprises a chemical supply section and a dispensing control section generally indicated as  16  and  18  respectively.  
      The chemical supply section  16  comprises a chemical reservoir generally indicated as  20  and a chemical delivery section generally indicated as  22 . The chemical reservoir  20  comprises a chemical storage container  24  and a chemical feed control  26  such as a one-way check valve. The chemical delivery section  22  comprises a chemical dispensing device  28  such as an atomizing nozzle coupled to the chemical storage container  24  by a chemical supply conduit  27  through a chemical flow control  30  such as a normally closed flow control solenoid valve selectively movable between an open position and a closed position coupled to the dispensing control section  18  by a conductor  32  to receive control or actuating signals therefrom to selectively move from the normally closed position to the open position to allow the chemical  29  to flow from the chemical storage container  24  to the air handler  12  and a blower control  34  such as a 24 VAC transformer and blower control relay box by the conductor  32  to receive control or actuating signal therefrom to selectively actuate or energize a when the chemical  29  is dispensed from the chemical storage container  24 .  
      The dispensing control section  18  comprises a microprocessor control device  36  including a display  38  to provide a visual display or indication of the system status, a program mode key  40  to select the desired operating mode of manual or automatic, a manual injection key  42  to manually dispense chemicals from the chemical storage container  24  into the air handler  12 , and an up control key  44  and a down control key  46 .  
      A return air conduit  48  and a supply air conduit  50  are operatively disposed at opposite end portions of the air handler  12 ; while, a filter  52 , an evaporator  54  and the blower  34  are disposed in spaced relationship relative to each other within the air handler  12 .  
      At initial set up of the microprocessor control device  36 , the user will use chemical strips or a similar technique throughout the conditioned space to determine the amount of chemical  29  necessary to treat the entire conditioned space, to effectively reduce or eliminate odor causing microorganisms, as well as mold, mildew and bacterial growth. In addition, as each treatment application is initiated, the display  38  will display this information to user as well as any setup data programmed at initial start up.  
      The amount and application rate of the chemical  29  to be applied to the contaminated air stream  14  is determined at initial set up of the chemical dispersing apparatus  10  for the particular air-conditioning or heating system and conditioned space is programmed into the microprocessor control keys  46  or  48  and program mode key  40 . The operating cycle is determined by the frequency of application and duration of dispensing of the chemical  29 . Every time the air conditioning or heating system is energized or turned on through the air conditioning or heating system thermostat to condition the space, microprocessor control device  36  will monitor these actions through the conductor  32  and activate the blower  34 .  
      When the chemical dispensing apparatus  10  is in use, the contaminated air stream  14  is drawn into the air handler  12  through the filter  52  by negative pressure created by the blower  56 . When the contaminated air stream  14  with contaminants enters the air handler  12 , the chemical  29  is injected into the contaminated air stream  14  under the control of the microprocessor control device  36 . The treated air stream  58  is then drawn through the evaporator  54  into the blower  56  and discharged through the supply air conduit  50  into the conditioned space.  
      Specifically, as the contaminated air stream  14  is drawn into the air handler  12 , the chemical  29  is injected into the contaminated air stream  14  by drawing the chemical  29  through the chemical feed control or check valve  26  through the chemical supply conduit  27  then through the control flow control or solenoid valve  30  in the open position and the chemical dispensing device  28  under the negative pressure in air handler  14  removing odor causing microorganisms, as well as mold, mildew and other bacteria. The chemically enriched conditioned air  56  entering the blower  56  is pressurized and fed through supply air conduit  50  into the conditioned space. Once entering the conditioned space the chemical  29  will be dispersed throughout entire conditioned space to further kill harmful microorganisms, mold, mildew and fungus.  
      The microprocessor control device  36  monitors and records the operation of the chemical dispensing apparatus  10  on a time or a minute-by-minute basis to accumulate data for a daily, weekly and monthly activity usage. This information will be used by microprocessor control device  36  to determine usage trends for different user operations for subsequent analysis to determine when chemical application is necessary. The microprocessor control device  36  also monitors consumption of the chemical  29  used either indirectly through rate calculations or directly through a level measurement sensor  60  and indicate on the display  38  the need to replenish the chemical storage container  24 .  
      In addition, the chemical  29  may be manually dispensed by pressing the program mode key  40  and then pressing the manual injection key  42  to automatically apply proper amount as previously described. This occasional manual application information will be stored in data storage (not shown) within the microprocessor control device  36  for future reference in determining a predictive future application.  
       FIG. 2  shows shows an alternate embodiment of the chemical dispensing apparatus generally indicated as  10  for use in combination with an air handler  12  of an air conditioning or heating system to reduce or eliminate airborne contaminants from a contaminated air stream  14 . As described hereinafter, the chemical reservoir  20  comprises a pressurized chemical storage container  22 . Otherwise the invention is essentially the same. The chemical dispensing apparatus  10  comprises a chemical supply section and a dispensing control section generally indicated as  16  and  18  respectively.  
      The chemical supply section  16  comprises a chemical reservoir generally indicated as  20  and a chemical delivery section generally indicated as  22 . The chemical reservoir  20  comprises a chemical storage container  24  such as an aerosol container and a chemical feed control  26  such as a nozzle. The chemical delivery section  22  comprises a chemical dispensing device  28  such as an atomizing nozzle coupled to the chemical storage container  24  by a chemical supply conduit  27  through a chemical flow control  30  such as a normally closed flow control solenoid valve selectively movable between an open position and a closed position coupled to the dispensing control section  18  by a conductor  32  to receive control or actuating signals therefrom to selectively move from the normally closed position to the open position to allow the chemical  29  to flow from the chemical storage container  24  to the air handler  12  and a blower control  34  such as a 24 VAC transformer and blower control relay box  34  by the conductor  32  to receive control or actuating signal therefrom to selectively actuate or energize a blower when the chemical  29  is dispensed from the chemical storage container  24 .  
      The dispensing control section  18  comprises a microprocessor control device  36  including a display  38  to provide a visual display or indication of the system status, a program mode key  40  to select the desired operating mode of manual or automatic, a manual injection key  42  to manually dispense chemicals from the chemical storage container  24  into the air handler  12 , and an up control key  44  and a down control key  46 .  
      A return air conduit  48  and a supply air conduit  50  are operatively disposed at opposite end portions of the air handler  12 ; while, a filter  52 , an evaporator  54  and the blower  34  are disposed in spaced relationship relative to each other within the air handler  12 .  
      At initial set up of the microprocessor control device  36 , the user will use chemical strips or a similar technique throughout the conditioned space to determine the amount of chemical  29  necessary to treat the entire conditioned space, to effectively reduce or eliminate odor causing microorganisms, as well as mold, mildew and bacterial growth. In addition, as each treatment application is initiated, the display  38  will display this information to user as well as any setup data programmed at initial start up.  
      The amount and application rate of the chemical  29  to be applied to the contaminated air stream  14  is determined at initial set up of the chemical dispersing apparatus  10  for the particular air-conditioning or heating system and conditioned space is programmed into the microprocessor control keys  46  or  48  and program mode key  40 . The operating cycle is determined by the frequency of application and duration of dispensing of the chemical  29 . Every time the air conditioning or heating system is energized or turned on through the air conditioning or heating system thermostat to condition the space, microprocessor control device  36  will monitor these actions through the conductor  32  and activate the blower  34 .  
      When the chemical dispensing apparatus  10  is in use, the contaminated air stream  14  is drawn into the air handler  12  through the filter  52  by negative pressure created by the blower  56 . When the contaminated air stream  14  with contaminants enters the air handler  12 , the chemical  29  is injected into the contaminated air stream  14  under the control of the microprocessor control device  36 . The treated air stream  58  is then drawn through the evaporator  54  into the blower  56  and discharged through the supply air conduit  50  into the conditioned space.  
      Specifically, as the contaminated air stream  14  is drawn into the air handler  12 , the chemical  29  is injected into the contaminated air stream  14  by forcing the pressurized chemical  29  from the pressurized container  24  through the chemical feed control or nozzle  26  and the control flow control or solenoid valve  30  in the open position and the chemical dispensing device  28  through the chemical supply conduit  27  and chemical dispensing device  28  in to the air handler  14  odor causing microorganisms, as well as mold, mildew and other bacteria. The chemically enriched conditioned air  58  entering the blower  56  is pressurized and fed through supply air conduit  50  into the conditioned space. Once entering the conditioned space the chemical  29  will be dispersed throughout entire conditioned space to further kill harmful microorganisms, mold, mildew and fungus.  
      The microprocessor control device  36  monitors and records the operation of the chemical dispensing apparatus  10  on a time or a minute-by-minute basis to accumulate data for a daily, weekly and monthly activity usage. This information will be used by microprocessor control device  36  to determine usage trends for different user operations for subsequent analysis to determine when chemical application is necessary. The microprocessor control device  36  also monitors consumption of the chemical  29  used either indirectly through rate calculations or directly through a level measurement sensor  60  and indicate on the display  38  the need to replenish the chemical storage container  24 .  
      In addition, the chemical  29  may be manually dispensed by pressing the program mode key  40  and then pressing key the manual injection  42  to automatically apply proper amount as previously described. This occasional manual application information will be stored in data storage (not shown) within the microprocessor control device  36  for future reference in determining a predictive future application.  
      The adaptive predictive or intuitive control will utilize a variation of a FIR (Finite impulse Response) digital filter technique. The FIR filtered response uses a sliding time window to provide a damping function or forgetting factor algorithm. The algorithm adjusts over time so that large transients caused by excessive use of the cleansing chemical at start-up or during unusual usage periods, due to weather or bacterial contamination, will not cause unusual behavior of the system. The system will be initially set up with a factory default setting which should provide adequate protection for 95% of the systems, based on tonnage of the HVAC system. This initial factory default value is based on system testing and calculated averages from various sized applications.  
      Therefore, it has been shown that the present invention provides new novel apparatus for applying chemical to eliminate odor causing microorganisms, as well as mold, mildew and bacterial growth, by utilizing intuitive microprocessor control chemical dispensing system.  
      Now that the invention has been described,