Patent Description:
Generally, an air conditioning system for forcibly suctioning contaminated indoor air to discharge the contaminated indoor air to the outside is basically provided in a home or a business. Specifically, the air conditioning system suctions the contaminated indoor air through a hood mounted above a kitchen table or a suction fan mounted on a ceiling or a wall, and then discharges the suctioned contaminated air to the outside through a duct.

Meanwhile, an air cleaning device in which multiple plate type filters such as a pre-filter, a carbon filter, a HEPA filter, and the like are sequentially disposed is installed in the duct to remove foreign substances contained in the suctioned contaminated air.

However, based on a configuration of each of the above-described various filters, the filter type air cleaning device installed in the conventional duct tends to focus on filtering dirt and the like contained in the contaminated air. Accordingly, based on the filter type air cleaning device, cleaning soot, smell, bacteria, and the like which are contained in the contaminated air does not seem to be performed. Further, since the filter of the filter type air cleaning device has to be cleaned and changed, maintenance costs are high, and when a cleaning state is poor, air cleaning efficiency sharply decreases.

<CIT> relates to a double chamber type exhaust gas treatment apparatus and an exhaust gas treatment method, for example, for treating a volatile compound such as a volatile organic compound (VOC) generated in a coating factory or a printing factory.

The present invention is directed to providing an air cleaning device configured to not only clean contaminated air which contains foreign substances such as soot and the like, but also improve air cleaning efficiency.

One aspect of the present invention provides an air cleaning device according to claim <NUM>, including a housing, first and second opening and closing members, a first filter unit, a circulation tube, a third opening and closing member, a first heater, and a blower. The housing has an inner space, an inlet formed on one side thereof through which contaminated air is introduced from the indoor space, and an outlet formed on an opposite side thereof through which purified air is discharged to the outside. The first opening and closing member opens and closes the inlet. The second opening and closing member opens and closes the outlet. The first filter unit collects and separates foreign substances from the contaminated air in the housing and is disposed so that both end portions thereof each face the inlet and the outlet in a state in which an outer peripheral portion of the first filter unit is hermetically sealed with an inner peripheral portion of the housing. The circulation tube has a first end portion disposed at the inlet to communicate with the housing, and a second end portion disposed at the outlet to communicate with the housing. The third opening and closing member opens and closes the circulation tube. The first heater is installed inside the circulation tube to heat air in the circulation tube. The blower is installed inside the circulation tube to deliver the air in the circulation tube into the housing.

According to the present invention, since contaminated air is heated in a circulation tube and the heated air is circulated through a first filter unit to be cleaned, foreign substances such as soot and the like, in addition to dirt contained in the contaminated air, can be removed, and smell in the contaminated air can be also removed. Further, since the heated air is circulated to be supplied to a whole area of the first filter unit, the foreign substances collected in the first filter unit can be uniformly removed, and thus air cleaning efficiency can be improved and inconvenience caused by frequently changing the first filter unit can be reduced.

In addition, according to the present invention, since a second filter unit coated with a catalyst which decreases a combustion temperature of the foreign substances is disposed in the circulation tube, incompletely combusted smoke and the like can be combusted and removed.

The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, the same reference numerals are used for the same components in the description, and repeated descriptions and a detailed description for known functions and configurations which may unnecessarily obscure the spirit of the present invention will be omitted. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely describe the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, a shape, a size and the like of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for more clear description.

<FIG> is a configuration diagram illustrating an example in which an air cleaning device is applied to first and second ducts. <FIG> is a perspective view of the air cleaning device. <FIG> is a cross-sectional view of <FIG>. <FIG> is a view for describing a process of heating contaminated air in a circulation tube and circulating the heated air through a first filter unit in <FIG>.

First, as shown in <FIG>, an air cleaning device <NUM> may be installed between a first duct <NUM> and a second duct <NUM>. Generally, contaminated indoor air is suctioned through a hood <NUM> mounted above a kitchen table of a home or a business, or a ventilator mounted on a ceiling or a wall, and then discharged. In this case, a suction force is provided by a suction fan <NUM> installed on the second duct <NUM>, and the indoor air, which is suctioned by securing a moving path through the first and second ducts <NUM> and <NUM>, may be discharged to the outside.

The air cleaning device <NUM> invention may remove foreign substances from the contaminated air introduced from an indoor space through the first duct <NUM>, and then discharge the purified air to the outside through the second duct <NUM>. Of course, the air cleaning device <NUM> may be separately installed to be used instead of being installed on an air delivering path such as that of each of the first and second ducts <NUM> and <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the air cleaning device <NUM> includes a housing <NUM>, first and second opening and closing members <NUM> and <NUM>, a first filter unit <NUM>, a circulation tube <NUM>, a third opening and closing member <NUM>, a first heater <NUM>, and a blower <NUM>.

The housing <NUM> has an inner space, an inlet <NUM> formed on one side thereof through which the contaminated air is introduced from the indoor space, and an outlet <NUM> formed on an opposite side thereof through which the purified air is discharged to the outside. When the housing <NUM> is installed between the first duct <NUM> and the second duct <NUM>, the inlet <NUM> may communicate with the first duct <NUM> to introduce the contaminated air. The outlet <NUM> may communicate with the second duct <NUM> to discharge the purified air. The outlet <NUM> may be exposed to the outside without connection to the second duct <NUM>.

A center portion of the housing <NUM> may be formed in a cylindrical shape. Accordingly, the housing <NUM> is formed in a structure in which a hollow having a predetermined size extends in a longitudinal direction. Both end portions of the housing <NUM> may have a diameter smaller than that of the center portion and an extending shape to each be connected to the first and second ducts <NUM> and <NUM>. The housing <NUM> may be formed in a shape having a polygonal cross section instead of a circular cross section.

The first opening and closing member <NUM> opens and closes the inlet <NUM>. The first opening and closing member <NUM> opens the inlet <NUM> so that the contaminated air is introduced into the housing <NUM>. While the contaminated air is circulated in the housing <NUM> through the circulation tube <NUM> and cleaned, the first opening and closing member <NUM> maintains a state in which the inlet <NUM> is closed. The first opening and closing member <NUM> may be rotatably coupled around the inlet <NUM> by a hinge shaft and operated by a rotating actuator (not shown) to open and close the inlet <NUM>.

The second opening and closing member <NUM> opens and closes the outlet <NUM>. While the contaminated air is circulated in the housing <NUM> through the circulation tube <NUM> and cleaned, the second opening and closing member <NUM> maintains a state in which the outlet <NUM> is closed. The second opening and closing member <NUM> may open the outlet <NUM> so that the purified air is discharged. The second opening and closing member <NUM> may be rotatably coupled around the outlet <NUM> by a hinge shaft and operated by a rotating actuator (not shown) to open and close the outlet <NUM>.

The first filter unit <NUM> collects and separates the foreign substances from the contaminated air in the housing <NUM>. The first filter unit <NUM> is disposed so that both end portions of the first filter unit <NUM> each face the inlet <NUM> and the outlet <NUM> in a state in which an outer peripheral portion of the first filter unit <NUM> is hermetically sealed with an inner peripheral portion of the housing <NUM>.

The first filter unit <NUM> may be formed in a shape corresponding to a shape of the center portion of the housing <NUM>. When the center portion of the housing <NUM> has a cylindrical shape, the first filter unit <NUM> may be formed in the cylindrical shape. The first filter unit <NUM> may include a plurality of paths <NUM> through which the contaminated air which is introduced into the housing <NUM> passes. Here, the paths <NUM> are arranged to be parallel to a longitudinal direction of the first filter unit <NUM>. The paths <NUM> may be partitioned by partitions <NUM>.

The first filter unit <NUM> may be formed of a porous material to collect particles contained in the contaminated air. For example, the first filter unit <NUM> may include a ceramic honeycomb including at least one material among carbide silicon (SiC), codierite, and alumina, which are porous ceramic materials. Alternatively, the first filter unit <NUM> may be formed of a ceramic nonwoven fabric filter, including a ceramic fiber made of the above described material.

The circulation tube <NUM> has a first end portion <NUM> disposed at the inlet <NUM> to communicate with the housing <NUM>, and a second end portion <NUM> disposed at the outlet <NUM> to communicate with the housing <NUM>. The air introduced into the housing <NUM> may be circulated in the housing <NUM> and the circulation tube <NUM>.

The third opening and closing member <NUM> opens and closes the circulation tube <NUM>. The third opening and closing member <NUM> may be disposed to open and close the second end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM>. The third opening and closing member <NUM> may be rotatably coupled around an opening of the second end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM> by a hinge shaft and operated by a rotating actuator (not shown) to open and close the second end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM>.

The first heater <NUM> is installed inside the circulation tube <NUM> to heat the air in the circulation tube <NUM>. The first heater <NUM> may include a heater using an electric heating wire. The first heater <NUM> may be configured to heat the air in the circulation tube <NUM> to roughly <NUM>. The air heated by the first heater <NUM> may be delivered into the housing <NUM> by the blower <NUM> which will be described below and heat the first filter unit <NUM> while passing through the first filter unit <NUM>. Accordingly, the foreign substances collected in the first filter unit <NUM> such as soot and the like may be combusted and removed, and smell in the contaminated air may also be removed.

The blower <NUM> is installed inside the circulation tube <NUM> to deliver the air in the circulation tube <NUM> into the housing <NUM>. The blower <NUM> acts to deliver the air heated in the circulation tube <NUM> by the first heater <NUM> into the housing <NUM>, and suction the air in the housing <NUM> into the circulation tube <NUM>.

Accordingly, the air heated by the first heater <NUM> may be circulated in the housing <NUM> and the circulation tube <NUM>. In this process, since the heated air is circulated to be supplied to a whole area of the first filter unit <NUM>, the foreign substances collected in the first filter unit <NUM> may be uniformly removed and the first filter unit <NUM> may be processed to be reusable, and thus inconvenience caused by frequently changing the first filter unit <NUM> may be reduced. The blower <NUM> is exemplified to be disposed between the first end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM> and the first heater <NUM>, but may also be disposed between the second end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM> and the first heater <NUM>.

The blower <NUM> may suction the air into the circulation tube <NUM> from the first end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM>, and then deliver the air into the housing <NUM> through the second end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM>. An indoor pressure may be lower than a pressure in the housing <NUM> at the inlet <NUM> in the state in which the first opening and closing member <NUM> closes the inlet <NUM>, but the pressure in the housing <NUM> at the inlet <NUM> may be decreased when the air introduced into the housing <NUM> is suctioned into the circulation tube <NUM> through the first end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM>.

Accordingly, leakage of the air in the housing <NUM> to the indoor space may be prevented by reducing a difference between the indoor pressure and the pressure in the housing <NUM> at the inlet <NUM>. Meanwhile, while the contaminated air is circulated through the circulation tube <NUM> and cleaned, the blower <NUM> may be operated to occasionally suction the air from the second end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM> and deliver the air through the first end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM>, and thus an air circulation direction may be reversed.

An operating example of the air cleaning device <NUM> will be described below.

First, during the daytime when contaminated air is relatively more generated in the indoor space, the contaminated indoor air is introduced into the housing <NUM> through the inlet <NUM> by the suction fan <NUM> shown in <FIG> in a state in which the inlet <NUM> of the housing <NUM> is opened by the first opening and closing member <NUM>, the outlet <NUM> of the housing <NUM> is opened by the second opening and closing member <NUM>, and the circulation tube <NUM> is closed by the third opening and closing member <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. The contaminated air introduced into the housing <NUM> is filtered through the first filter unit <NUM> and then discharged through the outlet <NUM>.

Meanwhile, as shown in <FIG>, during the nighttime when contaminated air is relatively less generated in the indoor space, the inlet <NUM> of the housing <NUM> is closed by the first opening and closing member <NUM>, the outlet <NUM> of the housing <NUM> is closed by the second opening and closing member <NUM>, and the circulation tube <NUM> is opened by the third opening and closing member <NUM>. In this state, the air in the housing <NUM> is suctioned into the circulation tube <NUM> through the first end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM> by the blower <NUM> and then delivered into the housing <NUM> through the second end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM>. In this case, the air introduced into the circulation tube <NUM> is heated by the first heater <NUM> and delivered into the housing <NUM>. The air delivered into the housing <NUM> heats the first filter unit <NUM> to a high temperature while passing through the first filter unit <NUM>. In this case, the foreign substances collected in the first filter unit <NUM> such as the soot and the like during the daytime may be combusted and removed, and the smell in the contaminated air may also be removed. Further, the air in the housing <NUM> may also be processed to be cleaned again.

The air which passes through the first filter unit <NUM> may heat the first filter unit <NUM> and combust the foreign substances in the first filter unit <NUM> while being circulated along the above-described moving path, and then be processed to be cleaned. When a cleaning process of the air in the housing <NUM> is completed, the outlet <NUM> is opened by the second opening and closing member <NUM>, and thus the purified air may be discharged to the outside.

Due to the air cleaning device <NUM>, since contaminated air is heated in the circulation tube <NUM>, and the heated air is processed to be cleaned in a method of circulating the air through the first filter unit <NUM>, the foreign substances such as the soot and the like, in addition to dirt contained in the contaminated air, may be removed, and the smell in the contaminated air may be also removed. Further, since the heated air is circulated to be supplied to the whole area of the first filter unit <NUM>, the foreign substances collected in the first filter unit <NUM> may be uniformly removed, and thus air cleaning efficiency may be improved and inconvenience caused by frequently changing the first filter unit <NUM> may be reduced.

As shown in <FIG>, a second filter unit <NUM> is further provided in the circulation tube <NUM>. The second filter unit <NUM> collects and separates the foreign substances from the contaminated air in the circulation tube <NUM>. The second filter unit <NUM> may include a ceramic honeycomb the same as that in the first filter unit <NUM>. The second filter unit <NUM> is exemplified to be disposed between the second end portion <NUM> of the circulation tube <NUM> and the first heater <NUM>, but is not limited thereto.

A catalyst for decreasing a combustion temperature of the collected foreign substances is be coated on the second filter unit <NUM>. Here, the catalyst may act to combust the foreign substances collected in the second filter unit <NUM> at roughly <NUM>. The catalyst may include an oxidized catalyst, or the like. The oxidized catalyst may be formed of a metal oxide such as platinum (Pt), paladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh), etc. Since the above-described catalyst is coated on the second filter unit <NUM>, even when incompletely combusted smoke or the like is collected in the second filter unit <NUM>, the collected smoke may be combusted to be removed. The above-described catalyst is also be coated on the first filter unit <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, second heaters <NUM> may be further provided in the housing <NUM>. The second heaters <NUM> are installed in the housing to heat both end portions of the first filter unit <NUM>. The second heaters <NUM> may be disposed adjacent to both end portions of the first filter unit <NUM>. One of the second heaters <NUM> may be omitted. Each of the second heaters <NUM> may include a heater using an electric heating wire, or a heater using microwaves.

As shown in <FIG>, as another example, a second heater <NUM>' may be formed in a surface-type heating mode. The second heater <NUM>' is installed between the outer peripheral portion of the first filter unit <NUM> and inner peripheral portion of the housing <NUM> to heat the outer peripheral portion of the first filter unit <NUM>. When the first filter unit <NUM> is formed in a cylindrical shape, the second heater <NUM>' may be formed to be curved with a curvature the same as that of the first filter unit <NUM>. Accordingly, the second heater <NUM>' may have surface contact with the first filter unit <NUM> to uniformly heat the first filter unit <NUM>. The second heater <NUM>' may be divided in plural and arranged in a circumferential direction. Meanwhile, the second heaters <NUM> as shown in <FIG> may be additionally installed in the housing <NUM> to heat at least one end portion of the first filter unit <NUM>.

Claim 1:
An indoor air cleaning device (<NUM>) comprising:
a housing (<NUM>) having an inner space, an inlet (<NUM>) formed on one side thereof through which contaminated air is introduced from an indoor space and an outlet (<NUM>) formed on an opposite side thereof through which purified air is discharged to the outside;
a first opening and closing member (<NUM>) configured to open and close the inlet (<NUM>);
a second opening and closing member (<NUM>) configured to open and close the outlet (<NUM>);
a first filter unit (<NUM>) configured to collect and separate foreign substances from the contaminated air in the housing (<NUM>) and disposed so that both end portions thereof each face the inlet (<NUM>) and the outlet (<NUM>) in a state in which an outer peripheral portion of the first filter unit is hermetically sealed with an inner peripheral portion of the housing;
a circulation tube (<NUM>) having a first end portion (<NUM>) disposed at the inlet (<NUM>) to communicate with the housing, and a second end portion (<NUM>) disposed at the outlet (<NUM>) to communicate with the housing;
a third opening and closing member (<NUM>) configured to open and close the circulation tube (<NUM>);
a first heater (<NUM>) installed inside the circulation tube (<NUM>) to heat air in the circulation tube (<NUM>); and
a blower (<NUM>) installed inside the circulation tube (<NUM>) to deliver the air in the circulation tube (<NUM>) into the housing (<NUM>),
characterized in that the indoor air cleaning device further comprises:
a second filter unit (<NUM>) configured to collect and separate the foreign substances from the contaminated air in the circulation tube (<NUM>), and
wherein a catalyst for decreasing a combustion temperature of the collected foreign substances is coated on the first filter unit (<NUM>) and the second filter unit (<NUM>).