Air cleaner, air cleaning method and air cleaning system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air cleaners are ineffective in preventing the spread of airborne viruses between individuals, as they often disperse purified air over a wide area, potentially infecting people downwind of an infected person.
Innovation Solution
An air cleaner design with a housing body featuring an inlet and outlet opening adjacent to each other, utilizing a filter and a blowing device to purify and diffuse air over a wide angle, preventing jet flow and ensuring local air purification between individuals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If conventional air cleaners blow purified air vigorously over a wide area, then a wide range of air space is purified, but airborne droplets and viruses can reach people downwind and cause infection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the air purification function into multiple localized units (multiple air cleaners) rather than relying on a single wide-area purification system. Each air cleaner handles a local zone, preventing cross-contamination between zones and eliminating the downwind infection risk associated with vigorous air blowing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements localized air purification by positioning air cleaners between individuals and using diffusion members to create localized purified air zones. This ensures that each person breathes purified air from their local environment rather than air blown from a distant source, eliminating the transmission pathway for airborne pathogens.
2Speed
If air is blown out vigorously to reach far away, then wide area purification is achieved, but jet flow occurs and disperses purified air over large distances
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of blowing air outward at high speed to achieve wide coverage, the patent inverts the approach by using diffusion members to gently disperse air in multiple directions at lower speeds. The diffusion member transforms the concentrated high-speed jet into a dispersed low-speed flow, eliminating jet flow while achieving effective local purification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the flow parameters by using diffusion members to reduce air speed and increase flow directionality. The diffusion member transforms the velocity vector and pressure distribution, converting a high-speed unidirectional jet into a low-speed multidirectional diffuse flow, thereby eliminating jet flow effects.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple people gather in a room with conventional air cleaners, then social interaction is enabled, but droplets and viruses from infected persons can reach downwind individuals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the room into multiple localized purification zones by deploying multiple air cleaners throughout the space. Each air cleaner creates an independent purified air zone around nearby individuals, preventing virus-laden air from one person from reaching others, thus enabling safe social gathering.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces purified air as an intermediary barrier between infected and susceptible individuals. By continuously supplying fresh purified air to each person's local zone, the system creates a protective buffer that prevents direct transmission of airborne pathogens between people in close proximity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively prevents virus transmission between people by ensuring purified air is diffused locally, reducing the risk of airborne pathogens reaching others.
Implementation Method 1
a filter received in the housing body to purify the air
Implementation Method 2
the air purified through said filter is diffused by said diffusion member and blown out
Data Source
AI summary
An air cleaner comprises a housing body 6 provided with an inlet opening for sucking an external air, a filter 2 received in the housing body 6 for purifying air, a blowing member 3 for blowing out the air, a drive portion 4 for rotation-driving the blowing member 3, and a diffusion member 7 provided to the housing body 6 as outlet opening for blowing out the purified air purified through the filter 2 to the exterior, wherein the inlet opening and the outlet opening are adjacent to each other, and the air purified through the filter 2 is diffused and blown out by the diffusion member 7, thereby an air cleaner suitable for preventing virus infection from person to person.