Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – For deodorizing of – or chemical purification of – or... – With means exposing gas to electromagnetic wave energy or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-21
2003-01-07
Thornton, Krisanne (Department: 1744)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
For deodorizing of, or chemical purification of, or...
With means exposing gas to electromagnetic wave energy or...
C422S120000, C422S122000, C422S186070
Reexamination Certificate
active
06503458
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air filters and, more specifically, to a device contained within a decorative structure for removing impurities from and freshening the surrounding air using a physical filter and ultraviolet light, wherein exposure of the air drawn into the structure to the ultraviolet light is maximized.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous air filters/decorative display fixtures have been provided in prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,927 to Patterson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,429 to Golstein; U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,060 to Kaye and U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,722 to Pick et al. all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,927
Inventor: Lawrence Patterson
Issued: Jul. 6, 1976
An ultraviolet lamp fixture for purifying the air within a room by means of passing the air over a plurality of hot cathode or other commercially available ultraviolet ray tubes. The tubes are mounted vertically within a decoratively covered, easily movable, pole-mounted housing having a motorized fan which moves air through an opening in the lower portion of the housing over the tubes for purification. The purified air stream is exhausted through the top portion of the housing and returned to the room. The interior of the housing has deflector vanes which function to create a turbulent air flow in the area of the tubes to insure that all of the air passing through the lamp fixture is purified by contacting the lamps. The lamp fixture is provided with means for filtering the circulating air. In an alternate embodiment, the air passes through a dehumidifier prior to passing by the tubes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,429
Inventor: Jerome J. Goldstein
Issued: Jul. 1, 1980
A room air purifier for quietly removing irritating or harmful impurities from the air circulating within the room. The purifier removes from room air, particles down to 0.3 microns in size with 99.9% efficiency. The air purifier comprises a somewhat elongated upright housing having an easily-removable back, a two-speed blower that is preferably AC operated and disposed at the bottom of the housing, a pair of vertically disposed ultraviolet lamps and associated means for powering the lamps including push button switch means, and preferably three separate filters including a pre-filter disposed at the inlet of the blower, a highly efficient main filter element vertically stacked over the blower and lamps and a charcoal filter disposed over the main filter element. The blower sucks the air in the bottom of the purifier through the pre-filter and up adjacent to the lamps to the main filter element and charcoal filter, and from there the purified air passes to a top baffle cover where the air is exited in preferably four directions from the purifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,060
Inventor: Howard Kaye
Issued: Dec. 15, 1992
An ornament displaying article of furniture having a weight-bearing surface member and pedestal base has a supporting substantially cylindrical and preferably transparent column releasably connected to the weight-bearing surface member. The appearance of the column may be altered with an agglomeration or reflective fill material, such as marbles, which may be exchanged by detaching the column from the weight-bearing surface member. In a preferred embodiment a light source irradiates light reflective or light radiant material of the fill.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,722
Inventors: William E. Pick and Kerby F. Fannin
Issued: Jul. 19, 1994
A germicidal air purifier for trapping and destroying airborne microorganisms is disclosed. The air purifier includes an ultraviolet radiation source and a juxtaposed filter medium. One ultraviolet radiation source and filter medium is fixed and the other is displaceable, so that at least an upstream side of the filter medium is systematically exposed to germicidal levels of radiation. In a first preferred embodiment, a fixed ultraviolet lamp irradiates a cylindrical air filter which is rotated on its longitudinal axis in close proximity to the lamp, so that the upstream side of the filter is systematically irradiated. In a second preferred embodiment, a radiant lamp fixture is moved reciprocally across an upstream side of a planar filter, to systematically irradiate the filter. In a third preferred embodiment, a radiant lamp fixture is rotated about an axis which is orthogonal to its longitudinal midpoint, so that a circular area of a planar filter is irradiated. The advantage is that microorganisms trapped on the filters are exposed to a lethal dose of radiation and the air purifier is consistently effective at destroying a significant percentage of airborne microorganisms suspended in the air passed through the filter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to air filters and, more specifically, to a device contained within a decorative structure for removing impurities from and freshening the surrounding air using a physical filter and ultraviolet light, wherein exposure of the air drawn into the structure to the ultraviolet light is maximized.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier which is able to disinfect the air in the surrounding atmosphere, particularly in a sick-bay, to reduce the spread of infectious disease.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier which emits ozone, a powerful oxidizing agent, for neutralizing undesirable odors, such as stale tobacco smoke and mildew.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier which will expose air drawn therein to ozone and ultraviolet rays for a maximum possible amount of time.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier including a passageway extending therethrough and surrounding the source of ozone and ultraviolet light through which air entering the purifier will flow.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier including a filter positioned at the inlet port for further purifying the air.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier including a component for drawing air into the air purifier at the input port.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier that is simple and easy to use.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier that is economical in cost to manufacture.
Further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.
A device for purifying air within a room is disclosed by the present invention. The device includes a housing having a plurality of air inlet ports and a plurality of air outlet ports. An ultraviolet ray generator is positioned within the housing along with a fan for drawing air into the housing through the air inlet ports. A passageway leading from the air inlet ports and past the ultraviolet ray generator to the air outlet ports provides a path for air drawn into the housing. The ultraviolet rays produced by the generator kill bacteria, germs and viruses in the air passing thereby through the passageway. The passageway maximizes a distance traveled by the air through the housing thereby maximizing exposure of the air to the ultraviolet rays. The device also generates ozone for neutralizing undesirable odors, such as stale tobacco smoke and mildew in the air drawn into the housing. A first filter element is positioned on a side of the passageway for trapping small particles within the air drawn through the air inlet ports. A second filter element may be scented for providing a desired scent to air passing therethrough and positioned on a side of the passageway opposite the first filter element. An aperture is located in the housing adjacen
Kroll Michael I.
Thornton Krisanne
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