Air decontamination device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air decontamination devices are inadequate in reducing microbial contamination in healthcare settings, particularly in ICUs, due to inefficiencies in removing bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens, and are often bulky, expensive, and require high power consumption, limiting their installation in areas like ICUs and outpatient wards.
Innovation Solution
An air decontamination device utilizing a decontamination cassette with pairs of conducting plates charged with a static electric field, coated with a microbiocidal three-dimensional material, which applies a voltage range of 2.7 to 4.2 kV/cm for 15-30 minutes to effectively kill microbes, reducing microbial counts by over a billion-fold without significant pressure drop or power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional filtration or incineration methods are used to remove microbes from air, then microbial removal efficiency is improved, but device complexity, size, and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential function of microbial removal from complex filtration or incineration systems. By using charged plates that directly kill microbes through electrostatic action, it removes the need for complex filter media, UV lamps, or heating elements, achieving microbial removal with a simplified structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical filtration systems (filters, sieves) and thermal incineration systems (heating elements, coolers) with an electrostatic field-based system. Charged plates create an electric field that directly inactivates microbes without mechanical capture or thermal processing, substituting complex mechanical/thermal systems with a simpler electrical field approach.
2Reliability
If filtration systems with fine sieves are used to remove bacteria and molds, then microbial removal efficiency is improved, but pressure drop increases and filters become clogged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the filtration media (fine sieves, filters) entirely from the system. Instead of capturing microbes on filter surfaces, it uses charged plates that inactivate microbes in place within the airflow, eliminating the source of pressure drop and clogging problems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes mechanical filtration (physical capture on surfaces) with electrostatic inactivation (field-based killing in airflow). This replacement eliminates the need for filter media that create resistance to airflow, thereby eliminating pressure drop while maintaining microbial removal efficiency.
3Reliability
If ESPs are used to collect particles from air, then particle removal is improved, but device size increases and capital costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential charge collection function from ESPs, removing the bulky housing, collection hoppers, and complex electrode arrangements. It uses simple charged plates that can be integrated into compact form factors while maintaining particle collection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs thin charged plates instead of bulky ESP components. These plates can be made as thin films or slender structures that maintain electrostatic collection efficiency while occupying minimal space, enabling compact device design without sacrificing particle removal performance.
4Reliability
If UV lamps or heating elements are used in air purifiers, then microbial inactivation is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes UV lamp-based photonic inactivation and heating element-based thermal inactivation with electrostatic field-based inactivation. The electrostatic field directly affects microbial cells without requiring high-energy UV photons or sustained thermal heating, resulting in lower power consumption while achieving effective microbial kill.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the inactivation mechanism from high-energy UV radiation or sustained high-temperature heating to a controlled electrostatic field at moderate voltage. This parameter change in the inactivation approach reduces energy consumption while maintaining effectiveness, as electrostatic fields can inactivate microbes without the high energy inputs required by UV or thermal methods.
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 device achieves high decontamination efficiency with minimal power usage and no pressure drop, making it suitable for widespread use in healthcare and other settings, including ICUs, by effectively trapping and killing microbes within the airflow path.
Implementation Method 1
pairs of conducting plates, wherein each pair of conducting plates comprises: a positively charged conducting plate, and a negatively charged conducting plate, wherein the positively charged conducting plate, and the negatively charged conducting plate are configured to be charged with a static electric field
Implementation Method 2
the positively charged conducting plate and the negatively charged conducting plate are separated by a distance that ranges between 8 mm to 12 mm to form an airflow path inside the decontamination cassette
Implementation Method 3
each pair of conducting plates comprises: a chemical moiety coated three-dimensional (3D) material (110) that is coupled to both surfaces of each of the positively charged conducting plate and the negatively charged conducting plate, wherein the chemical moiety coated three-dimensional material (110) is one of a microbiocidal composition coated on each of the plurality of pairs of conducting plates
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
An air decontamination device (100) comprising: an input unit (102); an output unit (103); and a decontamination unit (104) coupled at a first end (122) to the input unit (102) and coupled at a second end (124) to the output unit (103). The decontamination unit (104) comprises: pairs of conducting plates (108), where one conducting plate of each pair is for being positively charged and the other conducting plate of each pair is for being negatively charged. The positively charged plate and negatively charged plate are separated to form an airflow path (212) and a 3D material (110) that is capable of being potentiated by static electric field is coupled to each side of conducting plate (108). When the static electric filed is applied, the surface moieties of the 3D material (110) are realigned to a direction of the static electric field to potentiate the antimicrobial activity of the 3D material (110) for destroying the microbes present in the received air.