Patent Publication Number: US-2022212135-A1

Title: Dust removal device using expansion pressure

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a dust removal device using expansion pressure that separates and removes dust from air by accelerating the difference in specific gravity between dust and air by using the expansion pressure inside the device according to the inflow of mixed air mixed with dust including fine dust. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the field of dust removal device, a method of filtering out dust using a filter is widely known. 
     However, the filter-type dust removal device has a limitation in continuously performing air purification function for a long time because the filter must be frequently washed or replaced to prevent deterioration of air purification performance caused by the dust accumulated on the filter. 
     DETAILED DESCRITION OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Problems 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a dust removal device using expansion pressure that can continuously and stably purify air for a long time without using a filter. 
     Summary of the Invention 
     A dust removal device using expansion pressure according to one embodiment comprises an inlet chamber allowing mixed air including dust to flow inside and including an outlet for discharging the dust downward; a dust collecting chamber disposed at a bottom of the inlet chamber and sealed in a state of communicating with the inlet chamber and the outlet to collect the dust discharged through the outlet; a supplying pipe entering into an inside of the inlet chamber and extending toward the outlet to supply the mixed air into the inlet chamber; a first blower providing a blowing force for sucking in the mixed air and supplying the mixed air through the supplying pipe; an air exhaust duct connected to communicate with the inlet chamber to guide air separated from the dust to be discharged to outside, wherein a communication part of the air exhaust duct, which communicates with the inlet chamber, has a certain size allowing the inlet chamber to generate an expansion pressure inside, and a second blower providing a blowing force to discharge the air inside the inlet chamber to the outside through the air exhaust duct, wherein the supplying pipe and the outlet are spaced apart from each other, and a separation distance between the supplying pipe and the outlet is longer than a range that the mixed air propelled from the supplying pipe can reach to, so that the expansion pressure of the mixed air supplied to the inlet chamber accelerates separation action caused by specific gravity difference between the air and the dust. 
     At least one of the inlet chamber and the dust collecting chamber may have a truncated cone shape that at least a portion thereof adjacent to the outlet decreases in diameter as the portion is closer to the outlet. 
     The dust removal device further comprises an injection hole for injecting cleaning agent, which is capable of open and close, is provided at one side of an upper portion of the dust collecting chamber; a stirrer for stirring the cleaning agent and the dust, which is rotated by a motor, is provided at a bottom of the dust collecting chamber, and a discharge hole for discharging a mixture of the dust and the cleaning agent, which is capable of open and close, is provided at the bottom of the dust collecting chamber. 
     The air exhaust duct includes: an external duct provided at an outer side of an upper portion of the inlet chamber, and an internal duct provided to communicate with the external duct at an inner side of the upper portion of the inlet chamber, wherein the internal duct is provided such that a bottom of the internal duct is opened with a certain size and disposed along a circumference of the upper portion of the inlet chamber. 
     Technical Effects of the Invention 
     According to the dust removal device using expansion pressure according to one embodiment, the expansion pressure of mixed air introduced to an inlet chamber, which is caused by separation distance between a supplying pipe and an outlet, accelerates separation action between the air and the dust caused by difference in specific gravity therebetween. With this device, the dust can be smoothly separated and removed from the air without a filter, thereby allowing the device to perform air purification function continuously, stably for a long time. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process in which dust is separated from air through flow of air and dust according to one embodiment of the dust removal device using expansion pressure. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of the device illustrating a process in which dust collected in a dust collection chamber dissolves in a cleaning agent and is discharged to the outside according to one embodiment of the dust removal device using expansion pressure. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of the device according to another embodiment of the dust removal device using expansion pressure. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a main portion of the device according to another embodiment of the dust removal device using expansion pressure. 
     
    
    
     BEST MODE FOR THE INVENTION 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments introduced below are provided as examples in order to sufficiently convey the spirit of the present invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below and may be embodied in other forms. In order to clearly explain the present invention, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted from the drawings. In addition, the width, length, and thickness of components may be exaggerated for convenience in the drawings. The same reference numbers are used to refer to the same components throughout the description. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , dust removal device using expansion pressure according to one embodiment comprises a chamber unit  10 , an intake unit  20  for supplying external air into the chamber unit  10 , and an exhaust unit  30  for discharging air inside the chamber unit  10  to the outside. 
     The chamber unit  10  may include an inlet chamber  11  in the upper portion and a dust collecting chamber  12  in the lower portion. The inlet chamber  11  and the dust collecting chamber  12  may be provided to be sealed, respectively, communicating with each other through an outlet  13  at the bottom of the inlet chamber  11  therebetween. 
     The intake unit  20  includes a suction pipe  21  sucking in external mixed air in which dust containing fine dust and air are mixed, a supplying pipe  22  supplying the sucked mixed air into the inlet chamber  11 , and a first blower  23  providing blowing force for sucking in the mixed air through the suction pipe  21  and supplying it through the supplying pipe  22 . 
     The first blower  23  may be variously modified within a range capable of sucking in the mixed air and supplying the mixed air into the inlet chamber  11  through the supplying pipe  22 . 
     Thus, the first blower  23  may be configured as various types of blowers using ejectors or venturi tubes as well as fans, and may be installed inside the inlet chamber  11 , such as the middle of the supplying pipe  22 . 
     The suction pipe  21  may be rotatably coupled to the first blower  23  by 360 degrees or may be connected allowing an angle control, so that the suction direction of outside air can be variously adjusted. 
     The supplying pipe  22  may be vertically coupled to the upper inlet chamber  11  in a such a way that the tip of the supplying pipe  22  is extended from the center of the inlet chamber  11  toward the outlet  13  so that the supplying pipe  22  enters the inlet chamber  11 . 
     The exhaust unit  30  includes an air exhaust duct  31  guiding the discharge of air coming from the inlet chamber  11 , and a second blower  33  providing blowing force to discharge the air inside the inlet chamber  11  through the air exhaust duct  31 . 
     The air exhaust duct  31  includes an external duct  32   a  extending to one outer side of the inlet chamber  11  to communicate with the inside of the inlet chamber  11 , and in this instance, the second blower  33  may be installed in the middle of the air exhaust duct  31 . 
     As the second blower  33 , various blowing methods may be employed within a range capable of providing blowing force so that the air inside the inlet chamber  11  is discharged to the outside through the air exhaust duct  31 . 
     Meanwhile, the supplying pipe  22  has a supplying port  22   a  at the end of the supplying pipe  22 , and the supplying port  22   a  is provided to be spaced apart from the outlet  13  on the upper portion of the outlet  13 , so that dust in the mixed air discharged through the supplying pipe  22  is separated from the mixed air by specific gravity difference with air and guided to the lower dust collecting chamber  12 . Reference mark  1  denotes the separation distance between the supplying port  22   a  and the outlet  13 . 
     As described above, in the structure in which the supplying pipe  22  is spaced apart from the outlet  13  at the upper portion of the outlet  13 , the range of the mixed air discharged through the supplying pipe  22  does not go beyond the outlet  13 , and thus, separation action between air and dust caused by specific gravity difference therebetween can be accelerated by expansion pressure of the mixed air discharged to the inlet chamber  11 . 
     That is, when the mixed air with a certain pressure is shot downwardly into the inlet chamber  11  through the supplying pipe  22 , the volume inside the inlet chamber  11  is increased by the injected mixed air and thus, an expansion pressure is generated inside the inlet chamber  11 . In this instance, the mixed air propelled through the supplying pipe  22  has a range to which the force of the propelled mixed air allows the mixed air to reach. As described above, the separation distance  1  between the supplying pipe  22  and the outlet is longer than this range so that the range is limited to the upper portion of the outlet  13 . Accordingly, there is no more force in the mixed air existing around the outlet  13  to go beyond the outlet  13  in the propelled direction, but the mixed air has only an expansion pressure force trying to escape from the inside of the inlet chamber  11 . When this expansion pressure acts on the mixed air having dust particles and air particles mixed, the expansion pressure accelerates the specific gravity difference according to the weights of dust and air particles. Accordingly, the dust particles have a higher specific gravity than that of air particles, the dust particles with heavy weight are disposed in the lower portion of the inlet chamber  11 , and the air particles having relatively light weight are disposed in the upper portion of the inlet chamber  11 . Therefore, the heavy dust particles are propelled downward to the outlet  13  and discharged, and the light air particles are pushed out from the outlet  13  due to the specific gravity difference and is disposed upward by the inner wall of the inlet chamber  11 . In this way, the separation action between the dust and the air is accelerated by the specific gravity difference between the dust particles and the air particles. As a result, the air in the mixed air rises along the inner wall of the inlet chamber  11  through the expansion pressure and is discharged to the outside of the inlet chamber  11  through the air exhaust duct  31 , and the dust having a higher specific gravity than the air is propelled downwardly by the expansion pressure and can be collected in the dust collecting chamber  12  in a state separated from the air. In this instance, the dust may include fine dust and various foreign substances, which have a higher specific gravity than the air. In the drawing, a solid line arrow denotes a flow of dust, and a dashed line arrow denotes a flow of air. 
     The inlet chamber  11  may have an upside-down truncated cone shape in which at least a lower portion thereof adjacent to the outlet  13  decreases in diameter toward the outlet  13 , so that the air separated from the dust can be smoothly guided toward the upper portion of the inlet chamber  11 . In this embodiment, the inlet chamber  11  is provided in a form of a truncated cone as a whole whose diameter decreases as it goes down to the bottom thereof. 
     As  FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrating modified examples of the dust removal device according to the embodiment above, the air exhaust duct  31  may include an external duct  32   a  provided at an outer side of the upper portion of the inlet chamber  11  and connected to the inlet chamber  11  to communicate through a communication part having a certain size, which allows expansion pressure to be generated inside the inlet chamber  11 , and an internal duct  32   b  provided to communicate with the external duct  32   a  at the inner side of the upper portion of the inlet chamber  11 . The internal duct  32   b  may be provided such that the bottom thereof is opened with a certain size and disposed along the circumference of the upper portion of the inlet chamber  11 . Reference number  32   c  denotes an air inlet groove with a certain size, which is formed along the circumference of the internal duct  32   b  at the bottom of the inner duct  32   b  to guide the air into the internal duct  32   b.    
     According to the structure of the air exhaust duct  31  as described above, the air moving upward along the inner wall of the inlet chamber  11  is guided into the internal duct  32   b  through the air inlet groove  32   c , collected in the internal duct  32   b , and can be more smoothly discharged to the outside of the inlet chamber  11  through the external duct  32   a.    
     The inner duct  32   b  may be embodied simply by adding an extended wall  11   a  extending from a top wall  11   c  of the inlet chamber  11 . 
     In other words, as shown in  FIG. 3 , when the extended wall  11   a  extending downward from the top wall  11   c  to the inside of a sidewall  11   b  of the upper portion of the inlet chamber  11  is added along the circumference of the inlet chamber  11  with a certain length, the internal duct  32   b  opened downward with a certain size can be easily formed through a space defined by the extended wall  11   a , the sidewall  11   b  on the opposite side of the extended wall  11   a , and the top side  11   c  connecting between the extended wall  11   a  and the sidewall  11   b.    
     In addition, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the inner duct  32   b  may be provided by a separate connection pipe  40 , which is installed inside the inner side of the upper portion of the inlet chamber  11  and connected to the external duct  32   a.    
     In this instance, the connection pipe  40 , of which the bottom is opened downwardly with a certain size to form an air inlet groove  32   c  along the circumference of the inlet chamber  11 , is installed inside the inlet chamber  11  so that the outer circumferential wall of the air inlet groove  32   c  is supported by the sidewall  11   b  of the inlet chamber  11 . 
     In addition, the air inside the dust collecting chamber  12  moves upward by the suction force according to the blowing action of the second blower  33 , is guided to the air discharge duct  31  together with the air from the mixed air, and discharged to the outside. Accordingly, the sealed dust collecting chamber  12  maintains a vacuum state and thus generates a suction force, thereby inducing the dust entering the dust collecting chamber  12  by the suction force to be more stably collected and accumulated on the floor of the dust collecting chamber  12 . 
     In order to smoothly guide the air of the dust collecting chamber  12  toward the inlet chamber  11 , the dust collecting chamber  12  has a truncated cone whose diameter decreases toward the outlet  13  on at least an upper portion adjacent to the outlet  13 . 
     In this embodiment, the dust collecting chamber  12  is provided as a truncated cone shape in which the upper portion stands upright to easily guide rising air, and the lower portion is provided as a cylindrical shape with a constant diameter to secure sufficient space for collecting dust. 
     In addition, an injection hole  12   a  for injecting cleaning agent  2 , which is capable of open and close, is provided at one side of the upper portion of the dust collecting chamber  12 . Furthermore, a stirrer  50  rotated by a motor  3  and a discharge hole  12   b  capable of open and close, may be provided at the bottom of the dust collecting chamber  12 . 
     As the cleaning agent  2 , various liquid chemicals having dust adsorption properties may be used, and the injection hole  12   a  may be opened and closed through a stopper  60 . 
     The stirrer  50  may be disposed at the center of the floor of the dust collecting chamber  12 , and the stirrer  50  may be coupled to the shaft of the motor  3  to rotate by operation of the motor  3  installed at the bottom of the dust collecting chamber  12 . 
     The discharge hole  12   b  may be formed at one side of the floor of the dust collection chamber  12  to communicate with a connection pipe  70  connected to a drain. An on/off valve  80  may be provided between the discharge hole  12   b  and the connection pipe  70  to open and close of the discharge hole  12   b.    
     Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 2 , with operation of the stirrer  5  by driving the motor  3  in the state in which the cleaning agent  2  is injected into the dust collecting chamber  12 , the dust collecting chamber  12  can be maintained the vacuum state, and thus, the dust particles accumulated on the floor of the dust collection chamber  12  are continuously dissolved into the cleaning agent  2 , which circulates at the bottom portion of the dust collection chamber  12 . 
     After a certain time has elapsed, the user can remove the accumulated dust  1  by controlling the on/off valve  80  so that the discharge hole  12   b  is opened to discharge the cleaning agent  2 , in which the accumulated dust  1  has dissolved, to the drain. It can be easily removed to the outside of the device by allowing it to drain through the sewer. In this instance, the cleaning agent  2  may be replaced with a new one and filled again. 
     The following describes the operation of the dust removal device configured as described above. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , when the first blower  23  and the second blower  33  are driven, the external air, which the dust is mixed with, flows into the inlet chamber  11  through the suction pipe  21  and the supplying pipe  22 . 
     In this instance, since the separation distance  1  between the supplying pipe  22  and the outlet  13  is provided longer than the range that the mixed air propelled from the supplying pipe  22  can reach to, the range of the mixed air propelled from the supplying pipe  22  is limited to the upper portion of the outlet  13 . Therefore, the expansion pressure inside the inlet chamber  11  contributes to the air from the mixed air rising along the inner wall of the inlet chamber  11 , thereby accelerating the separation action between the air particles and the dust particles falling by their own weight. Accordingly, the rising air is discharged to the outside of the inlet chamber  11  along the air exhaust duct  31  by the suction force of the second blower  33 . The dust  1  with a higher specific gravity than the air is launched downwardly by the expansion pressure, passes through the outlet  13  in a state in which the dust  1  is separated from the air, and is collected in the lower portion of the dust collecting chamber  12 . 
     At this time, the air inside the dust collecting chamber  12  moves upward by the suction force according to the blowing action of the second blower  33  and is discharged through the air exhaust duct  33  together with the air coming from the supplying pipe  22 , thereby allowing the dust collecting chamber  12  to be maintained in a vacuum state. 
     Therefore, the suction force by the vacuum state is formed in the dust collecting chamber  12 , and this suction force promotes and stabilizes the dust  1 , which is separated from the air and enters the dust collecting chamber  12 , to be collected and accumulated at the floor of the dust collecting chamber  12 . 
     In addition, the dust  1  collected on the floor of the dust collecting chamber  12  is stored inside the dust collecting chamber  12  and continuously dissolves in the cleaning agent  2  by the operation of the stirrer  50 . The dust  1  can be removed by discharging it to the drain together with the cleaning agent  2  by controlling the on-off valve  80  to open the discharge hole  12   b.    
     DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMBER 
       11 : Inlet Chamber 
       12 : Dust Collecting Chamber 
       12   a : Injection Hole 
       12   b : Discharge Hole 
       13 : Outlet 
       22 : Supplying Pipe 
       23 : First Blower 
       31 : Air Exhaust Duct 
       33 : Second Blower 
       50 : Stirrer