Air monitoring device

Abstract

A recirculating air cleaning device that pulls dirty air 1 through a plurality of filters 20, 25 that cleans impurities air in a room before recycling the clean air 5 back into the room. The air clean

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to monitoring of air quality. Currently, the importance of monitoring and / or control of air quality is better understood in electronic chip manufacturing or food production. Background Art

[0002] Most work has been related to control of dust (in electronic chip manufacturing) and the restriction of bacteria and spores (in food production). Much scientific work has been carried out in these fields largely due to the cost of acquiring good, robust and quantifiable scientific data which normally requires special labs and large budgets.

[0003] However, currently there has been very little scientific work undertaken on hospital air quality. As has been seen during the current pandemic, virus awareness globally is very poor. Summary of invention

[0004] The aim of the invention has been to take this capability into a low-cost air cleaning system, which will enable routine collection of scientific data in a quantifiable way. The system will 'know' air flow rates so it will be able to accurately record data. In time, this will enable hospital scientific staff to monitor and potentially have an early warning system for airborne or transmitted disease. If this had been known in January 2020, then hospitals treating patients would have known that coronavirus had an airborne element to it, potentially saving significant numbers of lives.

[0005] Specifically, the invention draws air through a filtration device combining measurement of the CO2 of the air with both particle counting and VOC. In the present system a backward curved fan is used to ‘pull’ air through the filter or filters, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that any type of suction device will meet this requirement. The suction device will also deliver a ready supply of ‘dirty’ air past the sampling point and into a tube so that the same air crosses all sensors.

[0006] In an alternative arrangement, radiation monitoring may be combined with the CO2 monitoring, particle count and VOC. However, the radiation sensor is expensive and therefore may or may not be used depending upon a client's requirements. For example, it may be used in a radiotherapy area, but probably would not be needed in an ICU.

[0007] Air from the room in which the system is installed is drawn past the sensors and through the filter array and once filtered is then recirculated into the room as 'clean' air. One of the advantages of the invention is that more sensors may be added where advantageous for different locations in which the device is installed. A radiation sensor has already been mentioned in paragraph

[0006] , but other sensors such as those for temperature and humidity for example, may also be useful for certain applications and / or locations.

[0008] Preferably the filter array is enclosed within a housing or cage, which supplies rigidity for transport and produces a reduced contamination area, allowing the filter array to be cleaned if necessary, so that it reaches its intended lifespan. Furthermore, if the housing is provided by an external ungraded cage, it may have an electrostatic charge added to it using an alternating current, which allows detritus to be moved off the filter surface to prevent blocking.

[0009] In a further enhancement of the invention, a small drawer with a timer may be added to the incoming "dirty" air before it reaches the filter array. This will allow laboratory staff to use "settle or collection plates" for a known exposure period. When analysed alongside the data collected is this will significantly enhance laboratory capability around airborne disease. Brief description of drawings

[0010] The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Fig. 1 shows a simple side view of the device according to the invention. As shown in fig. 1, incoming ‘dirty’ air 1 is drawn through the device and through a sampling point 30 past a plurality of sensors (not shown) including at least a sensor for CO2, particle count and VOC. The incoming ‘dirty’ air 1 then passes into a multi-filter array arranged in a housing or cage 20 and impurities are sequentially removed by each filter 25. Once filtered, this ‘clean’ air 5 is recirculated into the room. Description of embodiments

[0011] The device includes solid walls 10 blocking air from penetrating, which might otherwise interfere with the filtration process and ends 15, 55 through which ‘dirty’ air 1 (end 15) and ‘clean’ air 5 (end 55) are pulled by suction using a backward curved fan for example (not shown). ‘Dirty’ air 1 is also drawn into sampling point 30, where it is exposed to a plurality of sensors (not shown).

[0012] Ends 15 and / or 55 may include a mesh or louvre structure to allow air to pass into and / or out of the device. Preferably the solid walls 10 are provided with a hatch through which the filter array 20, 25 may be removed if needed for cleaning.

[0013] The device may be enhanced by provision of a small drawer 40 that can be slid into and out of the dirty side of the device. The drawer 40 may contain one or more settle or collection plates and a timer.

[0014] The filter array may include several different grades of filter from HEPA, UPLA or SU PLA (preferably starting from the coarsest grade at the ‘dirty’ side to the finest grade at the ‘clean’ side to minimise blockages). The filter inner media will be ULPA15, which the inventors believe is currently unique in a recirculating filter system. 15 04 25

Claims

1. An air monitoring and cleaning system having suction means to pull 'dirty' air (1) through a filter array having a plurality of filters (25) that cleans impurities from 'dirty' air (1) in a room before recirculating the filtered 'clean' air (5) back into the room, wherein the system meets hospital air quality, the 'dirty' air 1 is also drawn into a sampling point 30 containing sensors that combine measurement of the CO2 of the 'dirty' air 1 with both particle count and VOC and the filter array includes filters (25) of different grades, for example HEPA, ULPA or SUPLA, starting from the coarsest grade at the 'dirty' air (1) side to the finest grade at the 'clean' air (5) side.

2. An air monitoring and cleaning system according to claim 1, wherein other sensors may also be included with the sensors monitoring CO2, particle count and VOC, for example a radiation sensor, temperature sensor or humidity sensor for certain applications or locations.

3. An air monitoring and cleaning system according to claim 1, wherein the filter inner media is ULPA15.

4. An air monitoring and cleaning system according to claim 1 or claim 3, wherein the filters (25) making up the filter array are contained within a removable housing (20).

5. An air monitoring and cleaning system according to claim 4, wherein the housing (20) is an external ungraded cage that has an electrostatic charge using an alternating current.

6. An air monitoring and cleaning system according claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the system has a plurality of solid walls (10) provided with a hatch through which the filter housing (20) can be removed and replaced.

7. An air monitoring and cleaning system according to claim 6, wherein a small drawer (40) is slid into and out of the solid wall (10) into the path of the incoming "dirty" air (1), before it reaches the filter array (20, 25) and a timer and settle or collection plates are placed in the drawer (40) to significantly enhance the ability of laboratory staff to monitor airborne disease.

8. An air monitoring and cleaning system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the suction means comprises a backward curved fan.

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