CA2035897A1 - Air cleaning unit - Google Patents

Abstract

An air cleaning unit effectively removes pollutants from the air.
The air cleaning unit is relatively compact and can be powered by a standard electrical socket. The air cleaning unit can function as an illuminating light and fragrance dispenser also. The air cleaning unit has a filter (60) and an electromagnetic fiel creator (82) through which a fan (100) forces air.

Description

WQgl/~708` PCT/US90~3~68 2Q3~897 ~

9 AN AIR CI,EANING UNIT

12 This application is a continuation-in-part of 13 application serial no. 378,088 filed ~uly 11, 1989.

15 Backqround of the Invention : :

17 This inv~ntion relates ~o a~ air cleaning lunit, 18 and more particularly to an air cleaning unit which 19 ¢an effectively remove pollutants ~rom the air, is 20 relatiYely compact, can be powered by a standard 21 electrical socket and which can have other functions 22 as:well, such as light illumination~ and the dispensing 23 of fixed amounts of:fragrance into th~ air.
24 Numerous patents have issue~ in which air cleaning 25 units are taught and described. These teachin~s~ are 26 documented in, ~or example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,642 27 issued March lS, 1983 to Bio~ech Electronics ~td.~
28 U.S. Pat. No. 3,7~5,560 issu~d May 2~, 1973 to D.C.
29 Wellman: U.S. Pat. No. 3,783,5~ issued Ja:nuary 8, 30 1974 to M. Hundis; U.S. Pat.~No. 3,86~,8~4 :issued 31 January 21, :1975:: to R.C. Marsh;~ U.S. :Pat.~ No.
32 4,114,082 i~ssued September 19 t ~ :1978 ~to J~H. Newell;
33 U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,653 issued January 9, 1~79 to C.W.

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`WO9l/0~708 2 ~ ~ 5 ~ ~ 7 P~T/US90/03g68 1 SO1tiS; U.S. Pat. NO. 4,215,682 iSSUed AUgUSt 1980 tO
2 KUbik et. a1.; U.S. Pat. NO. 3,744,216 iSSUed JU1Y 10, 3 1973 tO Ha11Oran: U.S Pat. NO. 3,841,840 iSSUed 4 OCtOber 15, 1974 tO HUndhaUSen; U.S. Pat. NO.

5 3,587,210 iSSUed ~Une 28, 1g71 tO Shriner: U.S. Pat.

6 NO. 4,133,652 iSSUed JanUarY ~, 1979 tO IShikaWa 7 et. a1.: U.S. Pat. NO. 3,191,362 issued June 29 , 1965 8 to Bourgeois; U.S. Pat. NQ. 3,853,529 iSSUed December 9 10, 1974 to BOOthe et. a1.; U.S. Pat. NO. 3,828,530 10 issued August 13, 1974 to Peters; U,S. Pat. ~o.

11 3,86~,404 iSSUed January 14, 1975 ~O JQChimSki: U.S.

12 Pat. No. 2,790,510 issued ~pril 30, 1957 to J.G.

13 Brabec: U.S. Pat. No. 4,261~,712 issued Apr 1 14, 1981 14 tQ Kinkade, U.S. Pat. NO. 3,804,942 issued Apr,il 16, 15 1974 to Takaskhi: U.S. Pat. :No. 4,252,S47 issued 16 February 24, 1981 to Johnson; German Pat No. DT2732859 17 issu~d February 1, 1979 to Wagner; French Pat~ No.

18 1,193,100 issued October 30, 195g; and~ U.S.5.R.: Pat.

19 No. 606,602 issued May 25, 197~. Pat. No. 4,069,026 20 issued JanUarY 17, 1978 to Sim et. al~ t~aches a 21 method for producing electrosta~cally spun fibers.

22 COnVentiOna1 ~ir cleaning units are, for the most 23 Part, limited to aCCOmP1iShing only certain air 24 fiItering or purifying tasks,:large apparatus' that:

25 cannot easily fit Within : the available space,~ and 26 cannot be employed ~o PerfOrm anything~ other than 27 certain particular limited functions~

28 It would be adVan~ageOUS, and an improvement over:

29 prior art air cleaning units, to have~an~ai~ cleaning 3io lunit whIc~h can effectively fi1ter and puri~y air, is 31 relatively compact, is ~ powered~: by: a s~tandard 32 eIectrical socket and which~can have other functions,~
33:such :as light~ illumination~ and~the::~dispensing of ;

W~91/00708 2 ~ ~ 5 ~ ~ ~PCT/US90/03968 ..... .
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1 controlled amounts of fragrance into the air. No air 2 cleaning u~it tau~ht by the prior art can accomplish 3 all of the following tasks: collect particles, 4 sterilize air, act on organic gases i~cluding carbon 5 monoxide and remove poisonous gases from th~ air, in 6 addition to providing light and dispensing fragrance.
7 The air cleaning unit of this invention accomplishes 8 all of these tasks effectively.
9 This improvement is achi~v~d by passing air to be 10 purified through a new filtering means in the air 11 cleaning unit which filtering means comprises a means 12 for creating an electromagnetic fiel*. The filt,ering 13 means is adapted to collect particles, namely, dust, 14 pollen, cigaret~e smoke and ~ther submicron 15 particulate contaminations, and to oxidize and ionize 16 certain substances in the air namely, fumes and 17 po}lutants. A light source, contained in one 18 embodi~ent of the unit, which has a wide wavelength 19 spectrum (i~, it has frequence~ fro~ far UVoC ~o far 20 Infra Red) further enchances ~he effectiveness of the 21 unit by emitting heat and W waYel2ngths. The heat 22 causes varioUs reactions occurring in the unit to move 23 forward more rapidly. The UV wavelengths have 24 germicidal properties to destroy and kill 25 microorga~isms.

Z7 S~m~-E~ of the Invention : 29 The present invention is direc~ed ~o providing an ~: 30 air cleanin~: unit which can effectively remove ~ 31 pollutants from the air,: is relatively compact, is 1 32 power d by a standard electrical socket, and which can ~ 33 have other func~ions as well, such as light :~ :
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WO9l/~0708 PCT/US90/03968 20358~ ~

l illumination and the dispensing of fixed amounts of 2 fragance into the air.
3 In an illustrative embodiment of the invention 4 the filter means comprising an electromagnetic field 5 created by current flowing along a coiled wir~ and 6 further comprising a new filter, in combination with a 7 light source, create an environment in a housing, 8 forming a semi-enclosed volume, which effectively 9 filters and puri~ies air passing through the air lO cleaning unit by removing particula~es and by 11 oxidizing or breaking certain pollutan~s in the air to 12 less harm pollutants. The air is moved across the 13 filter means by a fan means contained within the body 14 of the housing.
16 Brief ~escription of the Draw~ng~

18 The oregoing and other features of the present 19 invention will be more readily apparent from the ~0 following detailed description of the invention in 21 which: ~ ~
22 Fig. 1. is an exploded cross-sectional view of the 23 housing of the air cleaner unit:
24 Fig. 2. is an exploded view, partially ~in 25 cross-section, of the internal componen~s of the air 26 cleaning unit;
27 Fig. 3. is an exploded view of~ partially in 28 cross-section, of ~he housing of the air cleaner unit 29 and of the layout thereof, showing~ how said ~components 30 fit within said housin~

31 Fig. 4~-. and ~ Fig. 5 :~are sectional views of 32 preferred embodiments of a filter which can;be used in 33 the air cleaning unit;

WO91~070~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 8 9 ~CT/US9OJ03968 -5~

1 Fig. 6. is a perpec~ view of a light source 2 used in the air cleaning unit and wire coiled around 3 said light source, said coiled wire being in parallel 4 with sa id sour~e:
Fig. 7. is a perspective view of a light source 6 and wire coiled around ~aid light source, said coiled 7 wirQ being in parallel with said ligh~ source, and 8 said coiled wire having an addi~ional coil in series:
9 Fig. 8. is a perspective view of a light source 10 used in the air cleaning unit and a wire coiled ar~und ll said li~ht source, said coiled wire being in series to 12 said light source;
13 Fig. 9. is a perspective view of a ligh~ source 14 and wire coiled around said light source, said coiled 15 wire being in series wi~h sai~ light source and said 16 coiled wire having an additional CQil in series;
17 Each of Figures 6-9 show a base upon which the 18 light source and coiled wire can be located.
19 Fig. lO. is a top view of one embodiment of the 20 printed circuit upon which a light source, coiled wire 21 and ~asP are located;
22 Fig~ ll. is a cross-sectional view of a fragrance 23 dispensor to be used with the air cleaning unit at any 24 strategic location in ~he air cleaning unit;
Fig. l2. is a top view of said ~ragrance dispensor, 26 Fig. 13. is a bot~om view of th¢ base of said 27 fragrance dispensor,~ and ~ ;
28 Fig. 14, is a cross-sectional view of ~he~
2,9 fragrance~ dispensor and ~ilter, showing how said 30 fragrance dispensor can be adapted to ~it into a 31 filter used in the air cleaning unit.
32 Fig. 15. is a cross~sectional view, partially in 33 section, of the air cl~ning unit.

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l Descriptlon Of Illustrative Embodiments 3 Figure l shows the external structure of the air 4 cleaning unit. Upper housing 20 contains perforations 5 22 for the passage of air into or out of chamber 24 6 located in thP upper housing. Upper housing 20 is 7 detachably engaged with mid~housing 30. Mid-housing 8 30 forms a cylindrically shaped chamber 32 open from 9 both sides. Mid-housing 30 is detachably engaged with lO a frusto-conical shaped lower housing 40 with neck ll 41. Lower housing 40 has perforations 42 for the 12 passage of air out of or into the lower housing. Neck 13 41 is adapted to fit into socket 50. Socket 5Q, wi~h 14 threading 52, i5 a conventional light bulb socket 15 which can be screwed into a conventional light 16 fix~ure.
17 Upper hou~ing 20, mid-housing 30 and lower housing 18 40 are made of a transparent, or semi-transparent, l9 material such as plastic or glass which is 20 contaminated with W absorbant material, which, 21 however, allows other light w~velengths to pass 22 through the material, to iIluminate the area. The 23 ideal material is an unbreakable plastic with high 2q resistance properties to prevent electric shock. The 25 number o~ housing parts contained in the air cleaner 26 unit housing can, of course, vary. ,The multi-part ~7 housing permits any combination o~ colors ~o be used 28 ~or the housing, that is, each part of the housing may 29 have a different color. It also allows con~rol of the 30 'color of the light :emitted from the air cleaning unit.
31 Figure 2 depicts the internal components of the 32 air cleaning unit. A preferred embod:iment of ilter 60 33 contains wire ;m~sh 62, which is a conductive material, wo 91/00708 2 0 3 5 ~ ~ ~ PCT/US90/03968 f``.```
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l p~ferably iron, and activa~ed carbon granuals 64 2 erl~ased in said wire mesh 62. On the top end of 3 filter 60 there can be a sponge-like material 66 which 4 can contain a means which acts as an indicator by S changing color when the filter needs to be replaeed.
6 Sponge-like material 66 can also simply be coated with 7 said color indicating means. Fil~er 60 can have any 8 shape ~ut a shape which fits within and is 9 co-extensive with chamber 22 of upper housing 20 is 10 preferred. Filter 60 sits on holder 70, which holds ll filter 60 in position within upper housing 20. Holder 12 70 is adapted to allow air to freely ~low into or out ~ 13 of chamber 32 of mid-hoùsing 30. Holder 70 has a 14 vertical extension 72 whose lower end is in contact 15 with switch activator 96 located on switch 94 in the 16 operating air cleaning unit. When vertical extension 17 72 is in contact with switch activator 96, the switch 18 is closed and electric current can pass through switch 19 94. If vertical extension 72 is moved from such a 20 position, such as when the air cleaning unit is taken 21 apart, switch 94 is opened and ~urrent ceases to flow 22 past the switch. This prevents electric shock and is ,5 23 an important safety feature.
24 Figure 2 also depicts coiled wire 8~ and light ~ 25 source 84, both positioned on base 86. Base 86 is a 1 26 heat resistant cera~ic-like material~ ~ase 86 is 27 positioned on printed circuit 90. Swi~ch 94 and ~ 28 ~witch activator 96 are also posi~ione~ on printed i 29 circuit 90. Printed circuit 90 is located above fan 30 ioo comprising impeller 102 and motor 104 for 31 operating the fan. Motor 104 has electrical wires 106 ~l 32 for connectin~ it to current. The motor op~rates on !,~: 33 either high or low voltage and on either AC or DC
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1 power. The fan have one or more impellers 102 which, 2 when circulating, move air ~rom perforations 22 in 3 upper housing 20, through chamber 22 and then through 4 chamber 3~, into lower housing 40, and finally out of 5 per~orations 42 located in lower housing 40, or vice 6 versa.
7 Figure 3 depicts both the internal and external 8 component~ of the air cleaning unit and how they are ~ positioned relative to each other. Motor 104 fits 10 into neck 41 of lower housing 40. Neck 41 fits into 11 socket 50. Fan 100 fits entirely into the chamber 12 formed by lower housing 40. F~n 100 should be 13 positioned as low as possible inside lower housing 1~ 40. Impellers ~02 are designed for maximum efficiency 15 within the chamber formed by lower housing 40.
1~ Printed circuit 90 is adapted to fit on the upper end 17 of lower housing 40. Switch 94, base 86, light 18 element 84 and coiled wire 82, all of which sit on 19 printed circuit 90, are located in chamber 32 of mid 20 housing 30. Holder 70 is adapted to fit on the upper 21 end o~ mid housing 30. Filt~F 60, which sits on 22 holder 70, is loca~ed in chamber 22 formed by upper 23 housing 20. Alternati~ely, the filter may be held in 24 place by any attachment means in th~ upper housing, 25 and vertical extension 72 can protrude from the upper 26 housing, thereby obviating ~he need for~holder 70.
27 In a preferred embodimen~ of the invention, air is 28 puri~ied as ~ollows: air is drawn through perforations 29 22 into filter 60 by the movement of impellers 102.
30 Activated icarbon 64 in filter 60 absorbs certain 31 pollutants and reacts with other pollutan~s, The 32 efficiency of the acti~ated carbon to react with 33 pollutants is increased by the hea~ emitted from a 34 light source, this is especially the case when the WO9l/~0708 ~ 0 3 ~ 8 9 7 PcT/us9o/o3968 1 ~cti~ated carbon works by chemically reactin~ with the 2 pollutants. Wire mesh 62 in fil~er 60 blocks 3 particles. More particles are blocked when the wire 4 mesh has a higher density. Wire mesh 62 can ~e any 5 metal or metal oxide, but is ideally iron, zinc oxide 6 or copper oxide. Sponge-like material 66 on top of 7 filter 60 is designed to collect fine particles and to 8 contain a color indicator m~ans which tells the user 9 when filter 60 needs to be replaced. The purification 10 of air by filter 60 is enhanced by induced current in 11 the wire mesh caused by the electromagnetic field 12 creating means and also by heat emitted from the light 13 source. That is, the induced current in wire mesh 62 14 and heat catalyze oxidation and other chemical 15 reactions in ~ilter 60, thereby allowing ~or thP
}6 conversion of certain poisonous gases into less 17 harmful gas. Thus, reactions such as the following 18 take place: CO + H2O ~ ~ H2 ~ CO2. The reaction 19 rate is increased by wire mesh 62, which acts as a 20 catalyst, as follows:

2 2 C0 + 1/ 2 2 ~ C02; S02 .

24 Additionally, the induced current in wire mesh 62 25 improves the a~ility of activated carbon ~4 to react 26 with gases.
27 As air passes out of filter 60 and enters mid 28 housing ::hamber 32, certain W radiation wavelengths 29 emitted by light source 84 kill microorganisms. Heat 30 in chamber 32 generated by light source 8~ increases 31 the efficiency of the W wavel~ngths on microorgan-32 isms. Additionally, W waveleng-~.s and heat. catalyze 33 oxidation and other :chemical reactions in the air 34 cleaning unit. For instance, the following reaction '~
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1~ , WO9l/~0708 . PCT/US90/03968 2~'3~8~7 -10- ' ~

l.takes place under the conditions found in chamber 32:
2 2NO2 + W ~ heat - > 2N0 + 2 Heat also catalyzes 3 reactions such as 2O3 + Heat ~ 32~ Heat in 4 chamber 32 also increases the ioniza~ion of gases, 5 thereby increasing the effect that certain UV
6 wavelengths have on microorganisms and increasing 7 oxidation reactions.
8 The current flowing throu~h coiled wire ~2 causes 9 an electromagnetic field around the coil. The 10 electromagnetic field causes ionization of gases.
11 Furthermore, the electromagne~ic field causes current 12 to be induced in wire mesh 62 of filter 60. That is, 13 the current flowing through coiled wire 82, by 14 inductlon, causes induced current to flow in wire mesh 15 62 of filter 60. Ionization caused in chamber 32 and 16 at and around filter 60 have at least two major 17 purposes: 1) ionization per se causes the breakdown 1~ of certain harmful pollutants and 2) ionization of 19 gases increases the rate of oxidation. The efficiency 20 of the air cleaning unit can be increased ~y 21 increasing the frequency of the curren~ (such as by 22 chopping AC voltage). This is so because increased 23 current causes an increase in the electromagnetic 24 field, thereby increasing ionization of air. It 25 should be noted that air purification occurs in ~wo 26 stages -- at chamber 24 which contain~ filter 60 and 27 at cha~ber 32. The purified air is forced out o~ the 28 housing through perforations 42.
29 Figure 4 depicts one of many possible filters that 30 can be used with the air cleaning unit, ~his filter 31 being a preferred filt2r. The filter comprises a wire 32 mesh 62 and activated carbon ~4 contained within said 33 wire mesh. The wire mesh 62 and activated carbon are , :

WO91/00708 2 0 ~ ~ ~ 9 7 PCT/US90~03968 1 encased in a screen net of metal fibers 68. A
2 sponge-like material 66 is locat~d on the top 3 semicircular portion of fil~er 60. The sponge-li~e 4 material may be impregnated or coated with a means 5 which acts as an indicator and changes color when the 6 filt~r needs to be replaced. The indicator means may 7 be located in any location within the housing of the 8 air cleaning uni~ or it can even be a~tached to the 9 outside structure of ~he housing. Sponge-like 10 material 66 has electrical isola~ed properties and is 11 cover~d with casing 69 made of nonconductive isola~ed 12 fibers.
13 Figure 5 depicts another possible filter 14 comprising a wire mesh 62 and activated carbon 64 15 contained therein, all encased in a screen net of 16 metal fibers 68. In even another embodiment not shown 17 in the drawings, filter 60 can consist of activated 18 carbon 64 attached to acrylic fibers, said acrylic 19 fibers being in a shape similar to wire mesh 62. The 20 activated carbon and acrylic ~ilters are enclosed in a 21 net of acrylic fibers. Alte~atively, the acrylic 22 ~ibers, both in the m~sh and in the net, can also be 23 coated with catalizing materials such as me~al 24 oxides. Moreo~er, catalytic materials in the form of 25 ~ranuales can al50 be at~ached to the acryllc fibers.
26 Filter 60, of course, can consist of any combina~ion 27 of wire mesh, acrylic fibers and coated acrylic 28 fibers. The shape of the filter is ~ariable. It can 29 even be shaped to have a donut-shaped hole which 30 permits insertion of a fragrance dispenser within the 31 hole, as sho~n in Fig. 14.
32 Figure 6 shows one of four possible elec~rical 33 configurations of coiled wire 82 and light source 84.
34 Figures 6 and 7 show light sou~ce 84 and coiled wire , , ~
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WO9l/0070~ '~ ; PCT/~S90/03968 :. -12-2Q3~89~ -- l 82 connected in parallel. Pins 87 connect the coiled wire to a current source. Pins 89 connect the light 3 source to a curren~ source. Figure 7 differs from ~ Fig. 6 in that it contains an additional coiled wire 5 88 in ~eri~s. Additional coiled wire 88 increases the 6 electromagnetic ~ield created because current flows 7 throuqh each of coiled wire 82 and coiled wire 88, 8 thereby increasing the induction occurring in the air 9 cleaning unit. Fi~. 8 and Fig. 9 show coiled wire 82 10 and light source 84 conn~cted in series. Thus pins 87 11 and 89 connect both the coiled wire and light source 12 to a current source~ Fig. 9 differs from Fig. 8 in 13 that it contains an additional coiled wire 88 in 1~ series for the same purpose as that shown in Fig. ~.
A preferred embodiment of light source 84 is a 16 replaceable halogen bulb because it emits a wide 17 spectrum of wavelengths and a great amount of heat. A
18 halogen bulb is also preferred because of its small 19 dimension, long life expectancy and high ratio of 20 light/power to save energy. As can be seen, coiled 21 wire 82 surrounds light source.~ 84. The number of 22 turns in the coil are variable and are calculated to 23 a~sorb the maximum hea~ from the bulb and to allow 24 maxi~um illumination from the bulb. Coiled wire 82 25 serves many purposes. It absorbs heat thereby 26 protecting the housing of the air cl~aner uni~ and 27 other components from over-heating. It also serves to 28 cool light source 84. It protects the air cleaning 29 unit from ele tric surges. It prolongs the lifetime ' I 30 o~ light source 84 because the coiled wire resists ; 31 quick current changes~ which occur when one switches 32 the light on and of. It creates an electromagnetic 33 field in chamber 32, which causes ionization of gase.~

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1 in chamber 32 and which catalyzes oxidation and other 2 reactions in chamber 32. It also induces current in 3 wire m~sh 62 of filter 60. The induced current in 4 wire mesh 62 ionizes gases and also thereby catalyzes 5 oxidation and other reactions in chamber 24. Coiled 6 wire ~2 can be made of many different metals but the 7 preferred metals are nickel and copper. These two 8 metals are particularly effective catalystc for the 9 reactions which take place in the air cleaning unit.
10 Coiled wire 82 can also be made of any substance and 11 then simply coated with a substance which will act as 12 a strong catalyst. The surface of coiled wire 82 can - 13 be smooth. In a preferred embodiment, however, the 14 surface of coiled wire 82 is rough. A rough surface lS has a larger surface area which absorbs more heat. A
.l6 rough surface also has sharp angles which increases 17 the electromagnetic field and thereby the ionization 18 in the air surrounding the coiled wire.
19 Figure 10 depicts a top view of printed circuit 20 90, also shown in Figures 2 and 3. Apertures 92 are 21 adapted to permi~ pins 87 an~ 89 to connect to a 22 current source. ~pertures 98 are adapted to permit 23 switch 94 to connect to a curr~nt source.
24 The air cleaning unit can be made with or without 25 an optional fragrance dispenser. Figure 11 shows a 26 housing for dispensing fragrance into ~he air that is 27 passing through the air cleanin~ unit~ Figure 12 28 ~fhows a top view of cover 120 of said fragrance f 29 housing having an air regulator means 122 which 30 regulates ~he passa~e of air into fragrance chamber 31 132. As cover 120 is ro~ated to the right, opening l~ 32 124 becomes wider over space 131 in the upper portion 3~ 33 136 of ~ragrance hou ing 130, t~us permittiny a larger f:

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1 amount of air into fragrance chamber 132. A larger 2 amount o~ air in ~ragrance chamb~r 132 causes 3 fragrance to move into capillary pipe i34. Thus, the 4 amount of fragrance dispensed can be regulated in 5 controlled measured amounts. The fragrancP moves 6 through capillary pipe 134 into base 140 in the lower 7 portion of fragrance housing 130. Figure 13 shows a 8 bottom view of base 140. Sponge-like material or 9 other absorbant material 142 absorbs the fragrance 10 traveling through capillary pipe 134. As air passes 11 through the air cleaner unit, it comes into contact 12 with sponge-like material or other absorbant material 13 142 containing fragrance causing diffusion of 14 fragrance into the air. Thus, the air which passes 15 out of the air cleaner unit through perforations 42 16 can contain fragrance. Although fragrance housing 130 17 can be located a~ various strategic places within the 18 air cleaning unit, in the pre~erred embodiment of the 19 invention, fragrance housing 130 is located within 20 ~ilter 60. Threading 138 lodges fragrance housing 130 21 securely into place.
22 As can be seen in Figure 14, fragrance dispenser 23 130 is positioned in filter 60 so that air can pass 24 into openin~ 131 and so that sponge-like material or 25 other absorbant material 142 i5 exposed to air passing 26 out of filter 60, to permit diffusion o~ ~ragrance 27 into the air. Fragrance dispenser 130 can be made 28 with the same material used in making the housing for 29 the air cleaning unit.
l Figure,15 is a cross-sectional view~ par~ially in 31 s~ction, of the air cleaning unit described above.
32 While the invention has been par~icularly shown 33 and described with reference to preferred embodiments W~91/00708 ~ 0 3 5 ~ 9 ~ PCT/usgo/o396~
. }5 l.thereof, it will be understood by th,ose skilled in the 2 art that various changes in ~orm and details may be 3 mad~ therein without departing from the spirit and 4 scope of the invention.
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Claims (52)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An air cleaning unit for moving air therethrough comprising:
a) a housing forming a semi-closed volume;
b) an inlet and an outlet of said housing for the passage of air into said inlet, through said housing, and out of said outlet;
c) a fan means positioned within said semi-closed volume for causing air to flow from said inlet to said outlet:
d) a filter means positioned within said semi-closed volume, between said inlet and said outlet, for removing pollutants from the air flowing from said inlet to said outlet, said filter means comprising a means for creating an electromagnetic field in said housing, said fan means further causing air to flow through said filter means; and e) means for connecting said fan means and said electromagnetic field creating means to a power supply.

2. An air cleaning unit as in claim 1 wherein said electromagnetic field creating means is a wire through which current may flow.

3. An air cleaning unit as in claim 2 further comprising a light source.

4. An air cleaning unit as in claim 3 wherein said wire is coiled around said light source.

5. An air cleaning unit as in claim 4 wherein said wire coiled around said light source are connected in series.

6. An air cleaning unit as in claim 1 wherein said filter means further comprises a filter.

7. An air cleaning unit as in claim 6 wherein said filter comprises mesh means for trapping pollutants.

8. An air cleaning unit as in claim 7 wherein said mesh means is acrylic fibers coated with a catalytic material.

9. An air cleaning unit as in claim 7 wherein said mesh means is a wire mesh.

10. An air cleaning unit as in claim 7 wherein said filter further comprises activated carbon contained within said mesh mean.

11. An air cleaning unit as in claim 6 wherein said filter comprises a sponge like material attached to said filter, said sponge-like material containing an indicator means for determining when said filter needs replacement.

12. An air cleaning unit as in claim 6 wherein said filter comprises a fragrance dispensing means contained within said filter.

13. An air cleaning unit as in claim 6 wherein said electromagnetic field creating means is a wire through which current may flow.

14. An air cleaning unit as in claim 13 further comprising a light source.

15. An air cleaning unit as in claim 14 wherein said wire is coiled around said light source.

16. An air cleaning unit as in claim 15 wherein said wire coiled around said light source are connected in series.

17. An air cleaning unit as in claim 7 wherein said electromagnetic field creating means is a wire through which current may flow.

18. An air cleaning unit as in claim 17 further comprising a light source.

19. An air cleaning unit as in claim 18 wherein said wire is coiled around said light source.

20. An air cleaning unit as in claim 19 wherein said wire coiled around said light source are connected in series.

21. An air cleaning unit as in claim 8 wherein said electromagnetic field creating means is a wire through which current may flow.

22. An air cleaning unit as in claim 21 further comprising a light source.

23. An air cleaning unit as in claim 22 wherein said wire is coiled around said light source.

24. An air cleaning unit as in claim 23 wherein said wire coiled around said light source are connected in series.

25. An air cleaning unit as in claim 9 wherein said electromagnetic field creating means is a wire through which current may flow.

26. An air cleaning unit as in claim 25 further comprising a light source.

27. An air cleaning unit as in claim 26 wherein said wire is coiled around said light source.

28. An air cleaning unit as in claim 27 wherein said wire coiled around said light source are connected in series.

29. An air cleaning unit as in claim 10 wherein said electromagnetic field creating means is a wire through which current may flow.

30. An air cleaning unit as in claim 29 further comprising a light source.

31. An air cleaning unit as in claim 30 wherein said wire is coiled around said light source.

32. An air cleaning unit as in claim 31 wherein said wire coiled around said light source are connected in series.

33. An air cleaning unit as in claim 11 wherein said electromagnetic field creating means is a wire through which current may flow.

34. An air cleaning unit as in claim 33 further comprising a light source.

35. An air cleaning unit as in claim 34 wherein said wire is coiled around said light source.

36. An air cleaning unit as in claim 35 wherein said wire coiled around said light source are connected in series.

37. An air cleaning unit as in claim 6 further comprising an indicator means for determining when said filter needs replacement.

38. An air cleaning unit as in claim 1 further comprising a fragrance dispensing means for dispensing fragrance into the air.

39. An air cleaning unit as in claim 3 wherein said light source is a halogen bulb.

40. An air cleaning unit as in claim 3 wherein said housing is a transparent material.

41. An air cleaning unit as in claim 3 wherein said housing is contaminated with a UV wavelength absorbing material.

42. An air cleaning unit as in claim 38 wherein said fragrance dispensing means comrises:
a) a housing;
b) a containing means within said housing for containing a reserve of fragrance therein;
c) a capillary pipe means for moving fragrance from said containing means to a means for permitting the fragrance to contact air;

d) a means for regulating air pressure in said containing means to force movement of said fragrance into said capillary pipe means and into said air contacting means.

43. An air cleaning unit as in claim 10 wherein said mesh means is acrylic fibers coated with a catalytic material.

44. An air cleaning unit as in claim 10 wherein said mesh means is a wire mesh.

45. An air cleaning unit as in claim 43 wherein said electromagnetic field creating means is a wire through which current may flow.

46. An air cleaning unit as in claim 45 further comprising a light source.

47. An air cleaning unit as in claim 46 wherein said wire is coiled around said light source.

48. An air cleaning unit as in claim 47 wherein said coiled wire and said light source are connected in series.

49. An air cleaning unit as in claim 44 wherein said electromagnetic field creating means is a wire through which current may flow.

50. An air cleaning unit as in claim 49 further comprising a light source.

51. An air cleaning unit as in claim 50 wherein said wire is coiled around said light source.

52. An air cleaning unit as in claim 51 wherein said coiled wire and said light source are connected in series.