Gas separation: processes – Liquid contacting – On surface extending mass
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-18
2001-03-06
Spitzer, Robert H. (Department: 1724)
Gas separation: processes
Liquid contacting
On surface extending mass
C095S227000, C095S230000, C095S237000, C096S242000, C096S248000, C096S290000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06197094
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART
The present invention relates to a device for improving the quality of indoor air, said device comprising a casing with an air inlet and an air outlet, a member arranged to cause air in a room, in which the casing is placed, to flow in through the inlet and inside the casing to the outlet and therefrom out into the room again, and means adapted to influence the quality of the air passing through the casing, and a method for improving the quality of indoor air.
The need for such devices has increased during later years as a consequence of that the air, especially in densely populated areas, show an increasing amount of gaseous and particle-like contaminations from the industry as well as from engine vehicles, construction material, clothes, persons (deodorants, perfumes) and other sources, said contaminations having led to different types of over-sensitivity and allergies as well as diseases in the breathing means. There are also other sources to these problems, and the ventilation may for example in many cases contribute with contaminations as a consequence of that moisture in ventilation systems may include bacteria and fungi, which may bring about allergies and other types of over-sensitivity. It should also be mentioned that the houses of today are very well insulated in order to save energy, which often leads to an insufficient ventilation, which together with moisty places may form dwelling sites for dust mites, the secretions of which contribute to deteriorations of the indoor air.
Devices similar to the device defined in the introduction have been arranged in constructions in order to solve these problems by way of simply arranging different types of filters as said means in the ventilation conduits of the constructions. These previously known devices are however only able to partly solve the above mentioned inconveniences.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a device of the type mentioned in the introduction, the use of which enabling a considerable improvement of the quality of the air in a room while the above mentioned problems caused by different types of contaminations in indoor air being reduced to a great extent.
This object is achieved according to the invention by way of arranging leaf plants inside the casing of such a device and that said member is arranged to cause the air to flow past the leaf surfaces of the plants in order to remove contaminations and particles from the air by absorption thereof by means of the leaves of the plants.
It is within ventilation technique a quite novel step to locate a casing containing leaf plants in a room and to cause air to flow through the casing past the leaves of the plants and it has turned out to lead to astonishingly good results concerning the improvement of the quality of the air passing through the casing. Experiments have shown that different types of gaseous contaminations such as toluene, different types of hydrocarbons and formaldehyde are absorbed to a very great extent by means of the leaves of the plants, and an effective removal of particles with a size larger than 1 &mgr;m from the air is also achieved, which substantially reduces the irritations these particles cause on the human mucous membranes.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the air flow generating member is arranged downstream of the plants in the path of the air flow in order to suck air past them. It has been shown that such an arrangement of the air flow generating member is very advantageous due to that it causes an optimum distribution of the air so that the air is sucked past substantially all leaf surfaces for a good interaction therewith, and the particles prevailing in the air are not disintegrated by such a suction, which would lead to that they would be released in the air at the outlet, which has shown to be the case by blowing the air instead.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the device comprises at least one nozzle arranged to supply finely divided water to the inside of the casing upstream of the plants in the air flow. Thanks to the introduction of such finely divided water into the air flow a plurality of air quality improving effects are obtained. Firstly the air may be conditioned to a degree of moisture pleasant for the human mucous membrane, which is especially important in the winter when generally the indoor air is way too dry. The small water droplets are further able to wash out particles from the air, which are deposited on the leaves of the plants so that such particles to a great extent being removed from the air. The supply of water is in this way besides advantageous for the well-being of the plants and the bacteria system.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the device comprises a member arranged to detect the degree of moisture in the air leaving the outlet of the casing and a control unit arranged to control the supply of water by means of the nozzle depending on information concerning the degree of moisture from the detecting member in order to regulate the degree of moisture of the outlet air. It is by arranging such a detection member and such a control unit possible to all the time keep the degree of moisture in the air in the room in question on a desired level, which usually implies a relative humidity between 35-45%, which can be compared with the humidity of indoor air between 15-20%, which is often the case in the winter.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the casing is adapted to be arranged with the inlet at the upper end thereof and the outlet at the lower end thereof, which is advantageous due to that it enables a simple arrangement of plants in different layers or levels for an optimum improvement of the air, and the casing may according to a further development of this embodiment be adapted to be arranged in a room with the inlet in the ceiling section of the room and the outlet in the floor section of the room, which has turned out to be very advantageous while warm air comprising particles and contaminations rising towards the ceiling in this way will be sucked into the casing, which leads to an improvement of the quality therein, and that good quality air with a pleasant temperature thereafter will flow out in the floor section in order to thereafter be heated up and contaminated while rising towards the ceiling and thereafter being sucked into the casing again.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the air flow generating member is arranged outside the casing below a bottom thereof, which leads to a simplified covering of this member and to an easier achievement of electricity safety.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the device comprises at least one light source, which is arranged to provide the plants with light, said light source being arranged above the plants, and it is arranged outside the casing, which is also advantageous concerning electricity safety.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the walls of the casing are at least partly made of transparent material, which is advantageous for the well-being of the plants, and it may also have aesthetical values due to that the plants may be seen from outside.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the casing contains plants, which are not flowering and which are concentrated on active growth, which is an important characteristic due to that pollen as well as fragrances and similar secretions from flowering are a potential allergic risk, which means that the device in such a case in this regard would deteriorate the air.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the device therefor comprising means for restraining that the plants being illuminated more than 17 hours/day aiming at restraining flowering.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the casing contains plants with a large leaf surface, which naturally increases the possibility to interaction with
Spitzer Robert H.
Zarley McKee Thomte Voorhees & Sease
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