GB2552928A

GB2552928A - System and method for supplying clean air to a user

Info

Publication number: GB2552928A
Application number: GB1612082.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Romano Yosef
Original assignee: Brizi Ltd
Current assignee: Brizi Ltd
Priority date: 2016-07-12
Filing date: 2016-07-12
Publication date: 2018-02-21
Also published as: WO2018011722A1; GB201612082D0

Abstract

A portable system 100 and method for controlling the system for supplying clean air to a user, comprising an air cleaning system 110, with a filter 114 and a fan 112, and a first sensor 120 for sensing a quality of an air in an environment near the user, and a controller 130 which receives from the first sensor a signal indicative of the air quality and accordingly control the cleaning system to remove a portion of toxic gases or particles from the air. The system may be used to supply clean air to a baby in a pram or buggy (20, figs 2a, 2b, 4a, 4b), or someone in a wheelchair. The system may be used in a cushion (26, figs 3a, 3b). The controller may also receive input data relating to a threshold air quality or information on the user. The controller may adjust the amount of air supplied to the filter, by adjusting the air intake of the fan and the speed of the fans blades.

Description

(71) Applicant(s):

Brizi Ltd

Flat A, 5 Adamson Road, London, NW3 3HX, United Kingdom (72) Inventor(s):

Yosef Romano

(51) INT CL:
F24F 11/00 (2018.01)	B62B9/14 (2006.01)
(56) Documents Cited: WO 2008/010209 A CN 104566676 A US 20160041074 A1	CN 203372278 U JP 2004321535 A US 20060059872 A1
(58) Field of Search: INT CLA61G, B62B, F24F Other: WPI and EPODOC

(74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer Baratz UK LLP 16 Upper Woburn Place, London, WC1H 0BS, United Kingdom (54) Title of the Invention: System and method for supplying clean air to a user

Abstract Title: System for filtering air based on sensor, to deliver clean air to user's in prams and wheelchairs (57) A portable system 100 and method for controlling the system for supplying clean air to a user, comprising an air cleaning system 110, with a filter 114 and a fan 112, and a first sensor 120 for sensing a quality of an air in an environment near the user, and a controller 130 which receives from the first sensor a signal indicative of the air quality and accordingly control the cleaning system to remove a portion of toxic gases or particles from the air. The system may be used to supply clean air to a baby in a pram or buggy (20, figs 2a, 2b, 4a, 4b), or someone in a wheelchair. The system may be used in a cushion (26, figs 3a, 3b). The controller may also receive input data relating to a threshold air quality or information on the user. The controller may adjust the amount of air supplied to the filter, by adjusting the air intake of the fan and the speed of the fan’s blades.

FIG. 1

1IQ

100

MOBILE DEVICE Κ^Ο

2/6

FIG. 2B

3/6

FIG. 3A

FIG. 3B

4/6

FIG. 4B

5/6

FIG. 5

6/6

Nitrogen Dioxide (ppm)

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0



	mm· If·* Imm tnAmlnun

0.0

Time (minutes)

FIG. 6A

Activating system 100

Ω

ε

Ω

Ω ω

σ x

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0.0^L

0.0

Time (minutes)

FIG. 6B

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SUPPLYING CLEAN AIR TO A USER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [001] Air pollution in cities and roads is harmful to all living things, in particular young children, unhealthy adults and pets. Air pollution includes toxic gases and particles that are usually heavier than air, thus may form a layer of highly polluted air closed to the ground. This phenomenon is accelerated by the exhaust gases form automobiles which are exhaust directly to the polluted air layer. This layer of toxic gases and particles is the one inhaled by toddlers and babies in buggies, handicap people in wheelchairs, injured people carried by a stretcher and pets.

[002] There are several devices that aim to clean the air breath by toddlers and babies in buggies. The devices include a filter for filtering the air and a fan or a compressor for supplying air to the filter. Some devices further include sensors for sensing the amount of pollution and a simple controller for turning on or shutting done the fan according to the levels of pollution sensed by the sensors.

[003] Air pollution affects differently different beings, even the more sensitive ones. For example, babies, particularly in the first weeks of their life, are more sensitive than toddlers. People with breathing disabilities are more sensitive than other people and smaller pets are more sensitive than larger ones. Additionally, other environmental parameters such as temperature and humidity may affect the air pollution as well. All these parameters should be taken into account when designing a system for supplying clean air to users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [004] Some aspects of the invention may be directed to a system for supplying clean air to a user, for example, a toddler in a buggy, an adult sitting in a wheelchair and the like. A system according to embodiments of the invention may be portable and may include: an air cleaning system, comprising a filter for filtering toxic gases and particles and a fan. The portable system may further include a first sensor for sensing a quality of an air in an environment near the user and a controller configured to receive from the first sensor a signal indicative of the quality of the air in the environment near the user and control the air cleaning system to remove at least one of: a portion of toxic gases and a portion of particles from the air supplied to the air cleaning system based on the received signal.

[005] Some additional embodiments of the invention may be directed to a method of controlling a portable system for supplying clean air to a user. The method may include receiving from a sensor, of the portable system, a signal indicative of a quality of the air in an environment near the user and controlling an air cleaning system to remove at least one of: a portion of toxic gases and a portion of particles from an air supplied to the air cleaning system based on the received signal. In some embodiments, the air cleaning system may include a filter for filtering toxic gases and particles and a fan. In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving an input data, determining an air quality threshold value based on the input data and adjusting the air cleaning system if the air quality in the environment near the user is below the air quality threshold value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [006] The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with objects, features, and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings in which:

[007] Fig. lisa high level block diagram of a portable system for supplying clean air to a user according to embodiments of the present invention;

[008] Figs. 2A-2B are schematic illustrations of portable systems for supplying clean air to a user, according to embodiments of the present invention;

[009] Figs. 3A-3B are schematic illustrations of portable systems for supplying clean air to a user, according to embodiments of the present invention;

[0010] Figs. 4A-4B are schematic illustrations of portable systems for supplying clean air to a user, according to embodiments of the present invention;

[0011] Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a portable system for supplying clean air to a user according to some embodiments of the invention;

[0012] Figs. 6A- 6B are graphs depicting nitrogen dioxide cleaning using a system according to embodiments of the invention.

[0013] It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION [0014] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.

[0015] Although embodiments of the invention are not limited in this regard, discussions utilizing terms such as, for example, “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “establishing”, “analyzing”, “checking”, or the like, may refer to operation(s) and/or process(es) of a computer, a computing platform, a computing system, or other electronic computing device, that manipulates and/or transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computer’s registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer’s registers and/or memories or other information non-transitory storage medium that may store instructions to perform operations and/or processes. Although embodiments of the invention are not limited in this regard, the terms “plurality” and “a plurality” as used herein may include, for example, “multiple” or “two or more”. The terms “plurality” or “a plurality” may be used throughout the specification to describe two or more components, devices, elements, units, parameters, or the like. The term set when used herein may include one or more items. Unless explicitly stated, the method embodiments described herein are not constrained to a particular order or sequence. Additionally, some of the described method embodiments or elements thereof can occur or be performed simultaneously, at the same point in time, or concurrently.

[0016] Some embodiments of the invention may be directed to a system and a method of supplying clean air to users, in particularly users traveling in cities in the open air (i.e., not sitting in cars). Such users may be include populations that are more sensitive to the damages of the air pollution, for example, toddlers and babies in buggies, handicap people in wheelchairs, injured people carried by a stretcher and pets. These users breathe the plotted air in the lower layer near the ground. A system according to embodiments of the invention, may be attached or included in the buggy, the stretcher or the wheelchair or may be carried by the pet (or other user). The system may include a filter, a fan and a controller that can adjust the amount and quality of air supplied to the user, based on information regarding the quality of the air near the user, personal information related to the user, environmental conditions and the like.

[0017] Reference is made to Fig. 1 which is a high level block diagram of a portable system for supplying clean air to a user according to embodiments of the present invention. A system 100 may include an air cleaning system 110, at least one sensor 120 and a controller 130. The system may further include, a communication unit 140 configured to communicate with a mobile device 10, a user interface 150, a database 160 and an additional sensor(s) 170. System 100 may be portable and may be attached, connected or included in a device that carries the user, such as a buggy or a wheelchair or may be carried by the user. In some embodiments, system 100 may include a power source 190 for supplying electric power to various elements of system 100.

[0018] Air cleaning system 110 may include a filter 114 for filtering toxic gases and/or particles and a fan 112. Fan 112 may be any device that is configured to supply air to filter

114. For example, fan 112 may be fan, a compressor or the like. Fan 112 may include an electric motor, a shaft and blades. The electric motor may rotate the shaft and the blades. In some embodiments, the rotation speed of the shaft and the blades may be adjusted, for example, by adjusting the amount of power supplied to the motor from power source 190. In some embodiments, fan 112 may further include a hosing for holding the electric motor, the shaft and the blades. The housing may include an adjustable intake, configured to adjust the amount of air capable of entering the housing, and an outlet in a gas communication with filter 114 for supplying the air to filter 114.

[0019] Filter 114 may include one or more filters for filtering both toxic gases and/or particles. For example, the filter may include one or more of a polypropylene layer for trapping carbon dust, activated carbon cloth with copper salt impregnation for filtering VOCs, NOx, SOx, NFF and a nano metric woven cloth for filtering particles. As it may be understood by a person skilled in the art, filter 114 may be configured to filter particles alone. Filter 114 may be configured to filter one type of toxic gas, two types of toxic gases or more. In some embodiments, filter 114 may have a multilayered structure configured to filter both particles and one or more toxic gases.

[0020] At least one sensor 120 may be configured to sense a quality of an air in an environment near the user. Sensor 120 may include more than one sensor. For example, sensor 120 may include at least one of: a dust sensor, NO2 sensor, SO_X sensor and the like. Sensor 120 may be located in proximity or attached to air cleaning system 110, anywhere on a carrier carrying the user (e.g., a buggy or a wheelchair), attached to the user or to a device (e.g., a mobile device) carried by the user or a person in close proximity to the user (e.g., a parent pushing the buggy). Sensor 120 may be configured to send controller 130 a signal indicative of the quality of the air. The signal may include at least one of: an amount of toxic gases and an amount of particles in the air in the environment near the user. In some embodiments, sensing either the amount of toxic gas or the amount of particles may indicate the existence of the other. For example, sensing the presence of NO_X pollution emission from cars may indicate the existence of particles, since both are products of the burning of fossil fuels.

[0021] Controller 130 may include a processor 132 and a memory 134. Processor 132 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a chip or any suitable computing or computational device and an operating system. Processor 132 may be configured to carry out methods according to embodiments of the present invention by for example executing instructions stored in a memory such as memory 134.

[0022] Memory 134 may include, for example, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a Dynamic RAM (DRAM), a Synchronous DRAM (SD-RAM), a double data rate (DDR) memory chip, a Flash memory, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a cache memory, a buffer, a short term memory unit, a long term memory unit, or other suitable memory units or storage units. Instructions stored in memory 132 may include methods of controlling a portable system for supplying clean air to a user according to some embodiments of the invention.

[0023] Controller 130 may be configured to receive from sensor 120 a signal indicative of the quality of the air in the environment near the user, for example, a signal related to the amount of particles and/or NO_X in the air. In some embodiments, controller 130 may be configured to control air cleaning system 110 to remove at least one of: a portion of the toxic gases and a portion of the particles from the air supplied to air cleaning system 110 based on the received signal. For example, the controller may turn on and turn off system 110, control the amount of air supplied to filter 114 by controlling the size of the intake in fan 112 and/or controlling the rotation speed of the blades of fan 112. Filter 114 may be configured to filter a portion the toxic gases (e.g., when include an active carbon layer) and/or configured to filter a portion of the particles (e.g., when including a nano metric woven cloth).

[0024] System 100 may further include a communication unit 140 configured to communicate with a mobile device 10, for example, a mobile device of a parent pushing the buggy or the mobile device of the user sitting in the wheelchair. Communication unit 140 may wirelessly communicate with mobile device 10 using any known communication method. Communication unit 140 may be configured to receive information from controller 130 and sent information to mobile device 10 or any other external controller. In some embodiments, controller 130 may receive input data from the mobile device or the external controller via communication unit 140. The input data may include at least one of: an age of the user, a type of a device carrying the portable system and a medical condition of the user. In some embodiments, the input data may be related to the quality of air in the open air environment near the user and may be received from a remote database (e.g., a database comprising geographical data related to weather reports, air pollution levels and the like).

[0025] In some embodiments, system 100 may further include a user interface 150. User interface 150 may be located in proximity or attached to air cleaning system 110, anywhere on the carrier (e.g., a buggy or a wheelchair) carrying the user, attached to the user or to a device carried by the user or a person in close proximity to the user (e.g., a parent pushing the buggy). User interface 150 may include a screen (e.g., a monitor, a display, a CRT, etc.), a pointing device and an audio device. User interface 150 may include or be associated with other input devices such as, buttons. User device 150 may be, a touch screen or a pad or any other suitable device that allows a user to control (e.g., by hand or finger movements) a pointing indicator (e.g., a cursor) located on a screen. User interface 130 may include an audio device such as one or more speakers, earphones and/or any other suitable audio devices.

[0026] In some embodiments, system 100 may include a database 160 or may be in communication with database 160, for example, via communication unit 140. Database 160 may include any data storing device removable and/or fixed storage unit for storing data. Database 160 may store data related to the quality of air in various locations (e.g., various streets, parks, playgrounds, etc.) during different times of the year. The data related to the quality of air may include a correlation between the environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity, to the amount of pollution (e.g., air quality).

[0027] In some embodiments, system 100 may include additional sensors 170. For example, one or more sensors 170 may be located in proximity to the user’s face and may be configured to sense the quality of the air supplied to the user from air cleaning system

110. In some embodiments, sensor 170 may be located in filter 114 and may be configured to sense filtering quality of the sensor.

[0028] In some embodiments, system 100 may further include an attachment unit for attaching the portable system to at least one of the user, a buggy, a pram, a safety chair, a wheelchair, a stretcher, a bed and the like. Several examples of attachments units are disclosed and illustrated in Figs. 2-4.

[0029] Reference is now made to Figs. 2A-2B which are schematic illustrations of portable systems for supplying clean air to a user, according to embodiments of the present invention. System 100, illustrated in Fig. 2A, may be included or attached to a buggy 20. In some embodiments, an attachment unit 105 may include a pillow 106 and a clip 107. In some embodiments air cleaning system 110 may located external to pillow 106, and attached to buggy 10 by clip 107. The cleaned air may be transferred from air cleaning system 110 to pillow 106 by pipe 108. In some embodiments, air cleaning system 110 may be located inside an internal volume of pillow 106. Pillow 106 may include small outlet holes for extracting the cleaned air and supplying the air to the user. Fig. 2B shows illustrations of several designs of pillows 106 according to some embodiments of the invention.

[0030] Reference is made to Figs. 3A and 3B which are illustrations of portable systems for supplying clean air to a user, according to embodiments of the present invention. Portable system 100 may include an attachment unit in the form of a standalone pillow 26. Pillow 26 may be carried by the user, for example, place around the user’s shoulders or neck as illustrated in Fig. 3B. In some embodiments, air cleaning system 110 may be located inside an internal volume of pillow 26. Pillow 26 may include small outlet holes 27 or an outlet layer 28 for extracting the cleaned air and supplying the air to the user.

[0031] In some embodiments, portable system 100 may be detached from the carrier (e.g., buggy 20) and may be reattached to the carrier by the attachment unit. In some embodiments, an attachment unit 22 may be a canopy for a buggy (or any other canopy included carrier) as illustrated in Fig. 4A. In such a portable system 100 air cleaning unit 110 (and other optional components of system 100) may be embedded in canopy cover 22, such that a clean air may be supplied to the user from the upper cover of canopy 22.

[0032] In some embodiments, the attachment unit in a detachable portable system 100 may include a clip, as illustrated in Fig. 4B. A clip 36 may attach or detach detachable portable system 100 to or from various carriers, for example, a buggy 20. In some embodiments, clip 36 may attach or detach detachable portable system 100 to a pram, a safety chair, a wheelchair, a stretcher, a tent, a bed and the like.

[0033] Reference is now made to Fig. 5 which is a flowchart of a method of controlling a portable system for supplying clean air to a user according to some embodiment of the invention. The method of Fig. 5 may be performed by controller 130 or by any other suitable controller. In operation 510, embodiments may include receiving from a sensor (e.g., sensor 120), of the portable system (e.g., system 100), a signal indicative of a quality of an air in an environment near the user. The signal may include at least one of: the amount of toxic gases and the amount of particles in the air in the environment near the user. For example, the signal may be indicative of the amount of NO_X and/or the amount of particles in the air.

[0034] In some embodiments, additional information may be received by controller 130. In operation 520, embodiments may include receiving input data. The input data may be received from a user via a user interface (e.g., user interface 150), a mobile device (e.g., mobile device 10), a database (e.g., database 160) and the like. The input data may include an age of the user, a type of a device carrying the portable system, a medical condition of the user and the like. The input data may be used to specifically adjusting air cleaning system to supply clean air at a quality level required for a specific user.

[0035] In operation 530, embodiments may include receiving information related to the quality of air in the open air environment near the user. The information may be received from remote database, for example, a database comprising a municipality or a district’s weather and pollution forecasts. The database may include information regarding the expected pollution levels and weather forecast at various locations in the city or the district. In some embodiments, controller 130 may receive from mobile device 10 (or from another device) localization information related to the location of the mobile device and system 100 (e.g., GPS coordinates) from a positioning system in mobile device 10 (e.g., a GPS). In some embodiments, controller 130 may be configured to associate the location of the mobile device and/or system 100 with the information received from the remote database (e,g„ via communication unit 140) regarding the amount of expected air pollution and weather forecast at the location.

[0036] In operation 540, embodiments may include determining an air quality threshold value based on the input data and/or the received information. An air quality level according to some embodiments of the invention may include the amounts of gases and particles in the air. In some embodiments, controller 130 may be configured to determine what are the maximum allowed air pollution levels (e.g., maximum amounts of toxic gases and particles) in air supplied to a specific user and set these levels as the air quality threshold value. For example, the younger the user is (e.g., a 5 weeks old baby) the higher the quality of the air that should be supplied to him and the lower are the maximum allowed air pollution levels. In some embodiments, external temperatures and humidity levels may further affect the air quality levels. For example, for higher temperature and humidity, higher air quality levels may be determined as threshold value.

[0037] If the received signal indicative of the air quality level (received in operation 510) is above the threshold value (operation 550-NO), system 100 may continue to monitor the quality of the air near the user. If the received signal indicative of the air quality level is below the threshold value (operation 550-YES) system 100 may be required to clean the air supplied to the user.

[0038] In operation 560, embodiments may include determining an amount of air to be supplied to the filter based on the received signals, the input data and/or the received information. For example, controller 130 may be configured to determine to supply higher amount of air to fan 112 (i.e., filtering higher amounts of air) if the air quality is much lower than the determined threshold value. In some embodiments, the amounts of air to be supplied may further be determined based on at least one of: the age of the user, the medical condition of the user, the type of carrier, the environmental conditions and the like. For example, controller 130 may determine to supply higher amounts of cleaned air to a patient having breathing disorder carried by a stretcher than the amounts of cleaned air supplied to a heathy handicap person sitting in a wheelchair.

[0039] In operation 570, embodiments may include controlling an air cleaning system (e.g., system 110), of the portable system, to remove at least one of: a portion of toxic gases and a portion of particles from an air supplied to the air cleaning system based on the received signal. Controller 130 may control fan 112 to supply the determined amount of air (determined in operation 560) to filter 114. The controller may control the amount of power supplied from power source 190 (e.g., a battery) to the electric motor of fan 112, may adjust the rotation speed of the blades of fan 112 and/or may adjust the size of an air intake of fan 112.

[0040] Reference is made to Figs. 6A-6B which are graphs depicting Nitrogen Dioxide levels according to embodiments of the invention. System 100 was attached to a buggy having close and open canopies. The buggy was strolled in the streets of a crowded city, first with a close canopy and second with an open canopy, for 20 minutes each time. The graphs were received by recording NO2 levels measured by sensors located in the open air (e.g., sensor 120) and inside the canopy (e.g., sensor 170). The graphs of Fig. 6A were received from a 20 minute walk with a buggy having a close canopy and the graphs of Fig. 6B were received from a 20 minute walk with a buggy having an open canopy. As can be seen in both graphs the NO2 levels inside the canopy were lowered down following the activation of system 100. As expected the closed canopy has better effect on the quality of the air supplied to a toddler sitting in the buggy, however even for the open canopy the quality of the air inside the canopy was increase and the NO2 level was reduced by approximately 20%.

[0041] While certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents will now occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A portable system for supplying clean air to a user, comprising: an air cleaning system, comprising:

a filter for filtering toxic gases and particles; and a fan;

a first sensor for sensing a quality of an air in an environment near the user; and a controller configured to:

receive from the first sensor a signal indicative of the quality of the air in the environment near the user; and control the air cleaning system to remove at least one of: a portion of toxic gases and a portion of particles from the air supplied to the air cleaning system based on the received signal.

2. A portable system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive input data;

determine an air quality threshold value based on the input data; and adjust the air cleaning system if the air quality in the environment near the user is below the air quality threshold value.

3. A portable system according to claim 2, wherein the input data includes at least one of: an age of the user, a type of a device carrying the portable system and a medical condition of the user.

4. A portable system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine an amount of air to be supplied to the filter based on the received signal; and control the fan to supply the determined amount of air to the filter.

5. A portable system according to claim 4, wherein controlling the fan includes at least one of: adjusting the air intake of the fan and adjusting speed of the fan blades.

6. A portable system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the signal indicative of the quality of the air includes at least one of: an amount of toxic gases and an amount of particles in the air in the environment near the user.

7. A portable system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller is configured to turn on and shut down the air cleaning system based on the received signal.

8. A portable system according to claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to turn on the air cleaning system when a corresponding threshold is exceeded in respect of an amount of at least one of the toxic gas and the particles.

9. A portable system according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising: a second sensor for sensing the quality of the air supply to the user from the air clearing system, and wherein the controller is configured to control the air cleaning system based on signals received from the second sensor.

10. A portable system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the portable system is placed in an open air environment near the user.

11. A portable system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

an attachment unit for attaching the portable system to at least one of: the user, a buggy, a pram, a safety chair, a wheelchair, a stretcher and a bed.

12. A portable system according to claim 11, wherein the attachment unit is a clip.

13. A portable system according to claim 11 wherein the attachment unit is a pillow and the air cleaning system is located inside an internal volume of the pillow.

14. A portable system according to claim 11, wherein the air cleaning system is attached to a canopy cover.

15. A portable system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

a communication unit in communication with the controller, the communication unit is configured to communicate with a mobile device.

16. A portable system according to claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to send to the mobile device via the communication unit an alert regarding the quality of the air breathed by the user.

17. A portable system according to claim 15, further comprising: a sensor for sensing the filtering quality of the filter;

and wherein the controller is configured to send to a user an alert when the filtering quality of the filter is below a predetermined threshold value.

18. A portable system according to any one of claims 15-17, wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive, via the communication unit, from remote database information related to the quality of air in the open air environment near the user; and control the air cleaning system according to the received information.

19. A portable system according to claim 18, wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive a location of the mobile device from a positioning system of the mobile device;

receive from the remote database information related to the quality of air in the location, via the communication unit and the mobile device; and control the air cleaning system according to the received information.

20. A method of controlling a portable system for supplying clean air to a user, comprising:

receiving from a sensor, of the portable system, a signal indicative of a quality of an air in an environment near the user; and controlling an air cleaning system, of the portable system, to remove at least one of: a portion of toxic gases and a portion of particles from an air supplied to the air cleaning system based on the received signal, wherein the air cleaning system comprises:

a filter for filtering toxic gases and particles; and a fan.

21. A method according to claim 20, comprising; receiving an input data;

determining an air quality threshold value based on the input data; and adjusting the air cleaning system if the air quality in the environment near the user is below the air quality threshold value .

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein the input data includes at least one of: an age of the user, a type of a device carrying the portable system and a medical condition of the user.

23. A method according to claims 20-22, further comprising:

determining an amount of air to be supplied to the filter based on the received signal; and controlling the fan to supply the determined amount of air to the filter.

24. A method according to claims 20-22, wherein the signal indicative of the quality of the air includes at least one of: the amount of toxic gases and the amount of particles in the air in the environment near the user.

25. A method according to claims 20-24, further comprising:

turning on and shutting down the air cleaning system based on the received signal.

26. A portable system according to claim 25, wherein turning on the air cleaning system a threshold is exceeded in respect of at least one of: the toxic gases and the particles.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1612082.6 Examiner: Ms Megan Parker