Air-Flow Apparatus Using Negative Pressure to Reduce Germ Dispersion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hand drying methods using blowers distribute germs contaminated with pathogens like influenza and COVID-19 into the air, increasing the risk of infection, as they blow air contaminated with germs into the environment, rather than effectively removing them.
Innovation Solution
An air-flow apparatus utilizing a suction pump to direct air inward, preventing germ-laden particles from escaping, and incorporating a controllable overpressure device for drying, which ensures that air contaminated with germs is purified and not released into the environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a blower or positive pressure pump is used to generate high-velocity air stream for hand drying, then drying efficiency is improved, but germ-laden particles are distributed into the room air and environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by using a suction pump instead of a blower. The suction pump creates negative pressure to draw air and water droplets into the housing, then uses a jet nozzle to create a controlled air stream that directs particles toward a collection container rather than dispersing them into the environment. This inversion of the air flow direction resolves the contradiction between effective drying and germ containment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the harmful germ-laden particles from the environment by directing them into a collection container through the suction system. The jet nozzle and suction pump work together to extract water droplets containing germs from the hands and channel them into a contained space, separating the harmful particles from the room air and preventing their distribution.
2Speed
If air is blown at high velocity onto hands to remove water droplets, then drying speed is improved, but aerosols contaminated with germs are dispersed into the environment
Solution Approach 1:
The jet nozzle acts as an intermediary device that creates a controlled air stream. Instead of directly blowing high-velocity air onto hands (which would disperse aerosols), the suction pump draws air through the system, and the jet nozzle shapes this flow to efficiently remove water droplets while channeling them toward the collection container. This intermediary mechanism maintains drying speed while preventing harmful aerosol dispersion.
3Ease of operation
If conventional hand dryers blow air onto hands, then hands are dried effectively, but the risk of infection increases due to accumulation of germs in the washroom
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of air flow (which normally disperses germs) into a beneficial containment mechanism. The suction pump and jet nozzle system uses controlled air flow to actively collect and direct germ-laden particles into a collection container, transforming the potential harm of aerosol generation into a benefit of centralized particle collection and environmental protection.
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
The air-flow apparatus effectively reduces the risk of germ transmission by containing germ-laden particles within the device, allowing for safe drying and air purification, thereby minimizing the risk of infection and maintaining a cleaner environment.
Implementation Method 1
a pump (15) connected on its inlet side to the interior space (11') in such a way that by means of a pumping action of the pump a negative pressure is generated in the interior space (11') and a first air flow (7) directed from the opening (12) into the interior space (11'), for example exclusively into the interior space (11'), is generated for drying the object (6)
Implementation Method 2
a flow arrangement having a controllable overpressure generating device (27), an inflow pipe (28) and at least one nozzle (29). The overpressure generating device (27) is connected on its outlet side via the inflow pipe (28) and the at least one nozzle (29) to the interior space (11') and is adapted to form an overpressure in the inflow pipe (28) and to generate via the at least one nozzle (29) a second air flow (30) directed into the interior space (11') for drying the object (6)
Implementation Method 3
The overpressure generating device (27) is connected on its outlet side via the inflow pipe (28) and the at least one nozzle (29) to the interior space (11') and is adapted to form an overpressure in the inflow pipe (28) and to generate via the at least one nozzle (29) a second air flow (30)
Data Source
AI summary
An air-flow apparatus for treating air and drying an object has a housing with an interior space, into which the object to be dried can be introduced via an opening of a partially opened lid of the housing, and with a bottom opposite the lid. A pump is connected on its inlet side to the interior space in such a way that, by means of a pumping action of the pump, a negative pressure is generated in the interior space and an air flow directed from the opening into the interior space is generated for drying the object. A flow arrangement has a controllable overpressure generating device, an inflow pipe and at least one nozzle, the overpressure generating device being connected on its outlet side to the interior space via the inflow pipe and the at least one nozzle and being adapted to form an overpressure in the inflow pipe and to generate a second air flow directed into the interior space via the at least one nozzle for drying the object.