Nebulized Air Cleaner Filtration With Low-Energy Cyclonic Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air cleaners for domestic and personal use are often noisy and consume a lot of energy due to the need for large fans to overcome pressure drops across filters, and they require frequent filter maintenance or replacement.
Innovation Solution
A low-cost air cleaner design that uses a nebuliser to generate a mist of liquid droplets, which traps contaminants in the air flow, reducing the need for a separate filter element and minimizing energy consumption by utilizing a cyclonic airflow and a hydrophobic membrane to collect and re-use the mist, while the nebuliser is configured to eject the mist upwardly to enhance contaminant removal efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a solid filtration medium is used to remove contaminants from air, then contaminant removal is achieved, but a large fan is required to overcome pressure drop, resulting in high energy consumption and noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the solid filtration medium with a liquid-based mist system. The nebuliser generates a mist of liquid droplets that are introduced into the air stream, allowing contaminants to be captured through liquid-gas interaction rather than mechanical filtration, thereby reducing pressure drop and energy consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state of the filtration medium from solid (filter) to liquid (mist). By atomizing liquid into fine droplets and introducing them into the air stream, the system achieves contaminant capture with minimal resistance to airflow, eliminating the need for high-power fans
2Reliability
If a solid filtration medium is used to remove contaminants from air, then contaminant removal is achieved, but the device becomes noisy due to large fan requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid mist system replaces mechanical filtration, allowing air to pass through with minimal resistance. This eliminates the need for high-power fans that generate noise, making the device suitable for domestic and personal use where noise levels must be kept low
3Reliability
If a solid filtration medium is used, then contaminant removal is achieved, but frequent filter maintenance or replacement is required
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid mist system is inherently easier to maintain than solid filters. The nebuliser can be easily cleaned by rinsing with water, and the liquid reservoir can be refilled or replaced without disassembling complex filter structures. This self-service characteristic makes the device suitable for domestic use where users can easily perform maintenance
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a refillable liquid reservoir that can be emptied, refilled, or replaced easily. The liquid can be recovered and reused, or replaced with a simple refill operation, eliminating the need for complex filter replacement procedures
4Ease of manufacture
If a low-cost device is designed for domestic use, then affordability and ease of maintenance are improved, but effective contaminant removal may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical filtration systems with a simpler liquid mist generation system. The nebuliser, liquid reservoir, and basic housing can be manufactured at lower cost than high-performance solid filters, while maintaining effective contaminant removal through the liquid-gas interaction mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
By changing from solid to liquid filtration medium, the system achieves both cost reduction and maintained effectiveness. The liquid mist can be generated using simple atomization techniques that are inexpensive to implement, while the refillable design reduces long-term costs
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 cleaner effectively reduces contaminant levels in the air by at least 20% and eliminates the need for a separate filter element, reducing energy consumption and maintenance, with the nebuliser's upward mist ejection and cyclonic airflow enhancing contaminant collection and re-use.
Implementation Method 1
The nebuliser is preferably a piezo-electric nebuliser
Implementation Method 2
with the nebuliser's upward mist ejection and cyclonic airflow enhancing contaminant collection
Implementation Method 3
utilizing a cyclonic airflow and a hydrophobic membrane to collect and re-use the mist
Data Source
AI summary
An air cleaner is described comprising a housing having an air inlet and an air exhaust extending therethrough, a refill for containing a reservoir of liquid which is releasable from the housing, a nebulizer within the housing configured, in use, to be in fluid contact with the source of liquid to generate a mist of liquid droplets, said nebulizer being configured, in use, to eject the mist upwardly, a chamber within the housing in which the mist is retained, a fan within the housing configured, in use, to generate a flow of air through the air inlet and into the chamber such that at least some of the contaminants in the air flow are urged by the mist out of the flow of air and toward the refill. A refill for the air cleaner is also described as well as the use of said air cleaner.