U.S. patent number RE33,927 [Application Number 07/407,613] was granted by the patent office on 1992-05-19 for air cleaner.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Kankyo Company Limited. Invention is credited to Yasuyuki Fuzimura.
United States Patent |
RE33,927 |
Fuzimura |
May 19, 1992 |
Air cleaner
Abstract
An air cleaner of the type utilizing the corona discharge
phenomenon, which cleaner has a greater dust-collecting capacity
and which does not stain a wall even if the cleaner is installed
along the wall. The air cleaner of the present invention comprises
a substrate, a pair of anodes mounted on the substrate, a cathode
mounted on the substrate and interposed between the pair of anodes,
a cover mounted on the substrate, which covers the pair of anodes
and the cathode, the cover having an inlet formed in the region
near from the cathode and a pair of outlets formed in the region
near from the pair of anodes. The inlet and the pair of outlets are
arranged such that when a negative and positive voltage is applied
to the cathode and the pair of anodes, respectively, air is inhaled
into the cavity defined by the substrate and the cover from the
inlet and is vented therefrom through the pair of outlets.
Inventors: |
Fuzimura; Yasuyuki (Zushi,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Kankyo Company Limited
(Kanagawa, JP)
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Family
ID: |
27323396 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/407,613 |
Filed: |
September 15, 1989 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
905152 |
Sep 9, 1986 |
04693733 |
Sep 15, 1987 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Nov 8, 1985 [JP] |
|
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60-170871 |
Nov 11, 1985 [JP] |
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60-172384 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
96/62; 96/416;
96/76; 96/87; 96/88; 96/96; 96/98 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B03C
3/36 (20130101); B03C 3/32 (20130101); F24F
8/192 (20210101); Y02A 50/20 (20180101) |
Current International
Class: |
B03C
3/00 (20060101); B03C 3/36 (20060101); B03C
3/34 (20060101); B03C 3/32 (20060101); F24F
3/16 (20060101); B03C 003/36 () |
Field of
Search: |
;55/128-130,137,138,143,145,146,151,154,274 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hart; Charles
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Birch, Stewart, Kolasch &
Birch
Claims
I claim:
1. An air cleaner comprising:
a substrate;
a pair of anodes mounted on the substrate;
a cathode mounted on the substrate and interposed between the pair
of anodes, the cathode being insulated from the pair of anodes;
and
a cover mounted on the substrate which covers the pair of anodes
and the cathode, the cover having an inlet formed in the region of
the cover, which is near from the cathode, and the cover having a
pair of outlets formed in the region of the cover, which are near
from the pair of anodes, respectively;
the inlet and the pair of outlets being arranged such that when a
negative and positive voltage is applied to the cathode and the
pair of anodes, respectively, air is inhaled into the cavity
defined by the cover and the substrate from the inlet and is vented
from the cavity through the pair of outlets.
2. The air cleaner of claim 1, wherein the cathode has a
substantially linear shape.
3. The air cleaner of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a pair of
side walls on opposite sides, and the cathode is stretched across
the side walls.
4. The air cleaner of claim 1, wherein the anodes have a
substantially planar shape.
5. The air cleaner of claim 1, wherein the cathode is of a
substantially linear shape, the anodes have a substantially planar
shape, and the cathode and the anodes are arranged substantially in
parallel.
6. The air cleaner of claim 1, wherein each of the anodes is
covered with a dust-collecting paper.
7. The air cleaner of claim 1, wherein the cover is made of a
transparent material.
8. The air cleaner of claim 1, wherein the inlet and the outlets
are in the form of a plurality of slits.
9. The air cleaner of claim 1, wherein the inlet and the outlets
are in the form of a plurality of holes.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an air cleaner which collects small dusts
or particles in the air.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional air cleaners include filter type air cleaners and
electrostatic type air cleaners. Both types include a fan to inhale
ambient air into the body of the cleaner to catch the dust in the
air with a filter or an electrode. However, in those air cleaners
using a fan, noise is generated by the fan. If the revolution of
the fan is decreased to reduce the noise, the dust-collecting
capacity of the air cleaner is also reduced accordingly.
An air cleaner which does not include a fan has been developed.
This air cleaner utilizes the "corona discharge" phenomenon. This
air cleaner includes a cathode and an anode, and a high voltage is
applied to the electrodes. Electrons are emitted from the cathode
to give the dust or other particles in the air negative charge. The
negatively charged dust or particles are attracted to the anode and
trapped by the anode, thus removing the dust or particles in the
air. Since the negatively charged dust or particles flow from the
cathode to the anode, an air flow which is so called "ion wind" is
generated. In the conventional air cleaner of this type, the
cathode and the anode are so arranged as to face each other. Thus,
the ion wind blows in one direction, i.e., from the cathode to the
anode. With this arrangement, if the air cleaner is placed along a
wall (this type of air cleaner is usually placed along a wall), the
air flow entering the air cleaner flows substantially parallel to
the wall, thus staining the wall because the air flow entering the
air cleaner contains dust or particles. Further, with this
arrangement, the lines of electric force are substantially linear,
i.e., they are generated from the cathode to the anode in
substantially linear shape. Therefore, the air cleaner can collect
the dust in only a limited area, and so the air-collecting power of
the air cleaner is not satisfactory.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an
air cleaner of the type which utilizes the corona discharge
phenomenon, which air cleaner does not stain a wall even if the air
cleaner is installed along the wall.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an air
cleaner of which dust-collecting capacity is greater than the
conventional air cleaners.
These and other objects of the present invention can be
accomplished by providing an air cleaner comprising a substrate; a
pair of anodes mounted on the substrate; a cathode mounted on the
substrate and interposed between the pair of anodes, the cathode
being insulated from the pair of anodes; a cover mounted on the
substrate which covers the pair of anodes and the cathode; an inlet
formed in the region of the cover, which is near from the cathode;
and a pair of outlets formed in the region of the cover, which are
near from the pair of anodes, respectively. The inlet and the pair
of outlets are arranged such that when a negative and positive
voltage is applied to the cathode and the pair of anodes,
respectively, air is inhaled into the cover from the inlet and is
vented from the cover through the pair of outlets.
With the air cleaner of the present invention, since air is inhaled
from the inlet interposed between the pair of outlets, the dusty
air does not flow along a wall even if the air cleaner is installed
along the wall, so that the wall is not stained. Further, according
to the air cleaner of the present invention, since the lines of
electric force extend over a large area and so the dust or
particles in the large area are negatively charged, the
dust-collecting capacity is great.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the
air cleaner of the present invention (cover not shown);
FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view taken along 2--2' line in FIG.
1 and further shows a cover of the air cleaner;
FIG. 3 shows an outer appearance of a cover of an embodiment of the
air cleaner of the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows the lines of electric force generated in
operation;
FIG. 5 shows a modification of the embodiment of the air cleaner of
the present invention shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 shows a schematic electric circuit adopted in the embodiment
shown in FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, the air cleaner 10 of the present invention
includes a substrate 12. The substrate 12 has a pair of walls 13a
and 13b on the opposite sides thereof. The substrate 12 may
preferably be made of an insulating material such as plastic
materials. A pair of anodes 16a and 16b are mounted on the
substrate 12. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the anodes are in
the form of a rectangular plate of a conductive material such as a
metal. A cathode 14 of substantially linear shape made of a
conductive material such as a metal is stretched across the side
walls 13a and 13b, and inbetween the pair of anodes 16a and 16b.
FIG. 1 does not show a cover for the purpose of simplicity of the
figure.
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 2--2' in FIG.
1, but further shows the cover 18. As stated above, on the
substrate 12, a pair of anodes 16a and 16b are mounted. According
to the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2, although not
essential, a dust-collecting sheet 20 is placed on the pair of
anodes 16a and 16b. Dust-collecting sheet 20 may be a sheet of
paper. A cover 18 is placed on the substrate and covers the pair of
anodes 16a and 16b, and the cathode 14. According to the preferred
embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the cross sectional shape of the cover
is trapezoid Inlets 22 are formed in the portion of the cover 20
near the cathode 14. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2,
the inlets 22 are in the form of a pair of rows of a plurality of
slits shown in FIG. 3. The inlets 22 may also preferably be a
number of small holes. The cover 18 has a pair of outlets 24 in the
portion of the cover 18 which is near from the anodes 16a and 16b,
respectively. According to the preferred embodiment shown in FIG.
2, the outlets 24 are also in the form of a plurality of slits as
shown in FIG. 3, and may also preferably be a number of small
holes. By providing the inlets 22 and outlets 24 in the form of a
plurality slits or small holes, unintentional touch of a human body
to the high voltage cathode or anodes may be prevented.
In operation, a high voltage is applied between the cathode 14 and
the anodes 16a and 16b from a DC voltage source (not shown). The
voltage applied to the cathode 14 may be, for example, -8,000
volts, and that applied to the anodes 16a and 16b may be, for
example, +8,000 volts. Such a high voltage causes corona discharge
between the cathode 14 and the anodes 16a and 16b, and the dust or
the particles near the cathode 14 are negatively charged by the
electrons emitted from the cathode 14. The negatively charged dust
or particles are attracted to the anodes 16a and 16b and trapped by
the dust-collecting sheet 20 placed on the anodes 16a and 16b.
Since the dust or particles near the cathode 14 move to the
dust-collecting sheet 20, an air flow, so called "ion wind" is
generated by the movement of the dust or the particles. The air
flow is shown by the arrows in FIG. 2. That is, air is inhaled into
the cavity defined by the cover 18 and the substrate 12 through the
inlet 22 and vented from the cavity through the pair of outlets 24.
As seen from FIG. 2, since the dusty air comes from the direction
parpendicular to the substrate 12, even if the air cleaner 10 is
installed along a wall 26, the wall 26 is not stained by the dusty
air flow. Needless to say, however, the air cleaner of the present
invention need not be installed along the wall, but may also be
installed on a ceiling or may be just left to stand in a space in a
room or the like.
The lines of electric force generated in the air cleaner of the
present invention are shown in FIG. 4. As seen from FIG. 4, the
lines of electric force 28 (shown by broken lines) extend over a
large area. Thus, the dust in the large area can be collected, so
that the dust-collecting-capacity of the air cleaner of the present
invention is much greater than the conventional air cleaners.
Another preferred modification of the air cleaner of the present
invention is shown in FIG. 5. The air cleaner shown in FIG. 5, in
addition to the parts shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, further contains a
tape 30 made of a conductive material. As shown in FIG. 6, the tape
30 is connected to the primary circuit 32 (the one which has a plug
36) of the high voltage source 38 through a resistor 34.
With this arrangement, the static electricity accumulated in the
substrate 12 and the cover 18 escapes to the primary circuit of the
high voltage supply, thus preventing the electric shock when a
person touches the cover or the substrate.
As described above in detail, according to the present invention,
an air cleaner which does not stain the wall and which has a great
dust-collecting capacity was obtained. The air cleaner of the
present invention can collect dust or particles of as small as 0.1
to 3 micrometers diameter. Thus, the air cleaner of the present
invention can collect not only dust, but also bacteria, pollens,
cigarette smoke and the like. Thus, the air cleaner of the present
invention may be very helpful to hospitals and high-tech factories
such as semiconductor manufacturing factories.
Although the present invention was described referring to a
preferred specific embodiment, it should be understood that a
number of obvious modifications, ommission and addition without
departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention may be
apparent to those skilled in the art, and the scope of the present
invention should be determined by the appended claims.
* * * * *