HK1168805A - Air treatment device - Google Patents

Description

Air treatment equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to apparatus for treating air, particularly but not exclusively for treating air to remove contaminants and/or to deodorize and introduce an air treatment agent to the air.

Background

The growing amount of indoor air pollution is related to possible health effects. Some studies suggest that indoor air is significantly more contaminated than outdoor air, which may be particularly relevant to people spending much of their time indoors. Thus, by striving to remove some of the more common indoor air pollutants (including dust, smoke, pollen, bacteria, soot, mold spores, animal dander, and other subtle irritants) and to deodorize, it has become increasingly desirable to treat the air in the local environment to improve not only its sensory quality, but also its actual quality, and thereby create a clean, healthy, fresh, and pleasant environment.

Air cleaning apparatus are generally known and although such apparatus are believed to improve the actual air quality, it is difficult for consumers to believe that they are particularly effective because such apparatus do not tend to significantly improve the perceived air quality.

In contrast, fragrances are known to be effective in improving perceived air quality, but this is not particularly effective from a consumer point of view, primarily because of the first detriment to air quality, for example, during deodorisation.

While there are various commercially available treatment devices, apparatuses, and systems to address the root cause of air quality impairment, the present invention is directed to a cost effective apparatus capable of filtering air to reduce the amount of airborne contaminants and/or malodors, and also capable of treating the air with an air treatment agent (e.g., a fragrance and/or malodor treatment agent), wherein the apparatus is configured to more effectively present its benefits to the user for improving air quality.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is thus provided an air treatment apparatus comprising: a housing having at least one air inlet and at least one air outlet with at least one air passage therebetween; at least one fan positioned in the at least one air channel; at least one air filter retaining means arranged, in use, to releasably retain an air filter within the channel; at least one refill securing means arranged to releasably secure a refill of air treatment agent within the housing; a dissemination device within the housing; and wherein the housing is configured with a door to allow access to at least the air filter retaining means; and wherein the air filter retaining means is configured to move from a first position when the door is closed in which the air filter substantially completely obstructs the at least one air passage, to a second position when the door is open such that the air filter no longer substantially completely obstructs the at least one air passage.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is thus provided an air treatment apparatus comprising: a housing having at least one air inlet and at least one air outlet with at least one air passage therebetween; at least one fan positioned in the at least one air channel; at least one air filter retaining means arranged, in use, to releasably retain a planar air filter within the passageway; at least one refill securing means arranged to releasably secure a refill of air treatment agent within the housing; a dissemination device within the housing; and wherein the housing is configured with a door to allow access to at least the air filter retaining means; and wherein the air filter retaining device is configured to move from a first position when the door is closed, in which the air filter is substantially parallel to the at least one fan, to a second position when the door is open, in which the air filter is substantially non-parallel to the at least one fan.

Known air filtration devices typically require the user to specifically remove the air filter from the device to inspect and confirm that cleaning and/or replacement of the filter is necessary. In practice, however, the user will not typically perform this function in a routine manner, thus resulting in gradual degradation of the filter over time without the user realizing that the amount of airborne contaminants has not been substantially reduced. In contrast, the user is significantly more accustomed to replacing the air treatment agent refill.

The device according to the first or second aspect of the invention is therefore particularly advantageous in comparison with known devices in that the movement of the air filter secured in the device by the retaining means when the door is moved by the user to the second position of the door is considered particularly advantageous, since the air filter will be presented to the user for visual inspection irrespective of whether the user intends to inspect the air filter or not. While the user may not be able to perceive the improvement in air quality associated with the reduction of airborne contaminants when using the apparatus, presenting the air filter to the user for visual inspection will allow the user to appreciate that the air quality is improved by reducing the level of airborne contaminants in addition to any perceived improvement in air quality associated with the dispersal of the air treatment agent into the surrounding environment.

Preferably, the device according to the first or second aspect of the present invention is provided with a single air inlet and a single air outlet, and preferably both the air inlet and the air outlet are covered by a vent to block the ingress of large objects and improve the safe operation of the device in use. Most preferably, the apparatus is provided with two air inlets and one air outlet.

Preferably, the apparatus according to the first or second aspect has two distinct air channels, one of which, in use, allows air to enter the apparatus via the air inlet to be pushed and/or drawn through the air filter by the fan and to exit the apparatus via the air outlet; another passage allows air to enter the apparatus via an alternative air inlet when in use and to pass through the spreading means before exiting the apparatus via the air outlet.

Preferably, the apparatus according to the first or second aspect has a single fan. Preferably, the air is oriented to push/draw air in a substantially upward direction relative to a surface on which the device is placed. Most preferably, the fan is oriented at an angle of between 0 ° and 40 ° relative to the surface on which the device is placed.

Preferably, the apparatus according to the first or second aspect has guide means incorporated within the air filter retaining means. In this arrangement, the positioning of the air filter in the holder can be made error-free, so that the filter can be secured by the holder only when loaded in a particular orientation. Forcing the air filter to have a particular loading orientation may be advantageous to ensure proper operation of the apparatus when in use and/or when using a multi-purpose filter having more than one filtering surface.

Preferably, the air filter holding means for the apparatus is configured to be able to hold substantially all of the outer peripheral portion of the air filter. This arrangement is believed to be beneficial in helping the air filter retain its shape by providing structural support to overcome shear forces applied to the air filter by the fan operation when the apparatus is in use.

Preferably, the apparatus according to the first or second aspect has a single set of refill securing means. Optionally, the apparatus according to the first or second aspect has at least two sets of refill securing means and, in this alternative arrangement, the at least two sets of means may be provided to releasably grip the necks of at least two refills. Preferably, the one or more sets of securing means are configured to releasably grip the neck of a refill (e.g. a refill bottle or the like).

The spreading means of the apparatus according to the first or second aspect is preferably one or more heaters.

The apparatus according to the first or second aspect is preferably provided with a single door which, when in an open position, enables access to the air filter retaining means and the refill securing means.

The apparatus preferably according to the first or second aspect allows movement of the releasable air filter by a pivot mechanism, in particular wherein a pair of projecting arms having pivot points at distal ends are provided on the inner surface of the door, a pair of levers are respectively pivotally connected to the pivot points and the distal ends of the levers are respectively pivotally connected to the air filter retaining means, and wherein a biasing spring is connected about one or both of the pivot points and bears against the arms and levers. In a first position in which the door is closed, this arrangement results in the releasable air filter remaining substantially parallel and adjacent to the fan, and, when the door is open, this arrangement results in the air filter being moved from a position parallel and adjacent to the fan into a substantially vertical orientation and/or occupying a position occupied by the door in the closed position such that the planar surface of the filter can be clearly visually inspected by a user.

Alternatively, the air filter retaining means may be mounted on the door of the housing such that the means projects substantially perpendicularly relative to the longitudinally elongate shape of the door on the apparatus according to the first or second aspects. In this alternative preferred arrangement, when the door is moved into the open position so that the door is substantially parallel to the surface on which the device is to be placed, the air filter will be oriented substantially perpendicular to the surface and thus clearly visually inspected by the user.

As a further alternative, the air filter and/or air filter retaining means may be in contact with both the biasing means and the door or a stop member in contact with the door in the first position, such that the door or stop member opposes the force exerted by the biasing means on the air filter and/or air filter retaining means. In this arrangement, when in the second position, the door or stop member is no longer in contact with, or exerts sufficient counter force against, the air filter or air filter retaining device as a result of the door being open, such that the biasing means is able to urge the air filter or air filter retaining device such that it no longer substantially completely obstructs the at least one air passage. Preferably, the biasing means comprises one or more springs located in the apparatus substantially opposite the portion of the air filter or air filter retaining means which contacts the door or stop member in the first position.

Preferably the apparatus according to the first or second aspect is provided with a plurality of feet which are capable of raising the base of the apparatus away from a surface on which the apparatus is to be placed, and in this arrangement at least one air inlet is located in the base of the apparatus.

Preferably, the apparatus according to the first or second aspect is provided with guide means for the air treatment agent refill to allow loading and unloading of the refill in a more convenient and user friendly manner. The device is preferably configured with notches or the like of sufficient size to allow easy lateral access to the refill when secured therein, thereby allowing a user to grip the refill with sufficient physical strength to facilitate loading and unloading of the refill.

The door of the device according to the first or second aspect is preferably provided with a window or the like which is aligned with the position of the refill when it is secured in the device, for the purpose of directing the life of the refill to the user in a convenient and inexpensive manner. When the refill is an air treatment agent bottle (e.g. a translucent glass or plastic air treatment agent bottle having a wick disposed therein to carry the air treatment agent out of the bottle), the user will be able to readily see through the window or the like whether there is any air treatment agent remaining in the refill and thereby determine whether replacement of the refill is required.

Preferably, in use the apparatus according to the first or second aspect replenishes the bottle with an air treatment agent, for example a translucent glass or plastic air treatment agent bottle having a wick arranged therein to carry the air treatment agent out of the bottle.

Preferably, the apparatus according to the first or second aspect uses a single layer air filter in use, more preferably the apparatus uses a multi-layer air filter in use.

In a preferred embodiment, the air filter is configured such that the filter has at least one of the following characteristics: a mechanical filter layer; an electrostatic filter layer; a malodor reduction layer; a contaminant reduction layer. Preferably the filter has at least two of said properties, more preferably at least three of said properties, still more preferably at least four of said properties.

As mentioned above, in a particularly preferred embodiment, the air filter is a multi-layer air filter, which is preferably provided with different layers having different characteristics. For example, the filter may comprise at least two types of filter layers, one or more mechanical filter layers and one or more electrostatic filter layers, and wherein the types of layers are adjacent to each other and oriented within the apparatus such that air must first pass through the mechanical filter layers before passing through the electrostatic filter layers.

Preferably, when an air filter is used as the filter in the apparatus of the present invention, the air filter is operable to remove at least some malodours from air filtered thereby; more preferably, the filter is operable to remove at least 50% of the malodours filtered thereby; even more preferably, the filter is operable to remove at least 80% of the malodours filtered thereby; and most preferably the filter is operable to remove substantially all malodour filtered thereby.

Preferably, the air filter used with the present invention is capable of substantially completely removing at least one of the following types of air contaminants from the air filtered thereby when the apparatus is in use, namely: malodors (including kitchen malodors, pet malodors, and/or tobacco malodors), dust, smoke, pollen, bacteria, soot, mold spores, animal dander, and fine irritants. More preferably, the filter is capable of substantially completely removing at least two types of said air pollutants; even more preferably, the filter is capable of substantially completely removing at least three types of said air pollutants; even more preferably, the filter is capable of substantially completely removing at least four types of said air pollutants; and most preferably, the filter is capable of substantially completely removing all of said air contaminant types.

Preferably, the apparatus according to the first or second aspects is driven, in use, by mains electricity, but the apparatus may use any suitable power source, for example a battery and/or solar panel or the like.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side perspective view of the device in a first closed position; and

figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the apparatus.

Detailed Description

As seen with reference to fig. 1 and 2, the apparatus 1 of the present invention has a generally elongate housing 10 with an elongate door 12 therein. An air inlet 14 is in the base of the apparatus, said air inlet 14 being spaced above the surface on which the apparatus is to be placed during use of the apparatus by a plurality of feet 16 projecting from the base. The air outlet 18 is in the upper part of the housing 10.

The device 1 is shown with an air treatment agent bottle 20 engaged therein. A bottle 20 is located within the apparatus and is aligned with a window 22 in the door 12 to conveniently allow a user of the apparatus to determine the level of treatment agent remaining in the bottle 20.

As seen with particular reference to fig. 2, the bottle 20 is secured within the apparatus via releasable engagement with a securing means 22, which securing means 22 grips the neck of the bottle 20, which enables a wick (not shown) to extend out of the top of the bottle 20 and into an aperture in a heater 24 located above the bottle 20. The heater 24 has the shape of a ring to surround the wick so as to apply heat evenly to the wick when the device is in use.

The interior of the housing 10 is shown as defining two separate air passages 30 and 32 in which air moves in the direction of arrows 31 'and 32'. Within the first channel 30 is a fan 34 and at a location below the fan is an air filter retaining means 28, the air filter 26 being retained in the air filter retaining means 28.

The air filter 26 is generally square in plan shape with sufficient depth to accommodate one or more filter materials. Although not illustrated, the air filter 26 has at least two different types of filter layers, one or more mechanical filter layers and one or more electrostatic filter layers, and wherein the types of layers are adjacent to each other and oriented in the apparatus such that the air must first pass through a mechanical filter layer adapted to capture larger particles before passing through an electrostatic filter layer adapted to capture smaller particles. While this mechanism is not fully understood, this arrangement has also been shown to be particularly effective in removing at least some of the malodours of the air filtered therefrom when the apparatus is in use.

Although not illustrated, a guide device is provided within the holding device 28 to allow the air filter 26 to be loaded in said device 28 in a manner that prevents errors. The guide means forces the air filter 26 in a particular loading direction, which is useful when different types of filters are incorporated in the filter, thus for example ensuring that larger particles are removed before smaller particles.

Although not clearly illustrated, an air filter retaining device 28 in the form of an open bracket is provided, the air filter retaining device 28 being configured to support substantially all of the outer peripheral portion of the air filter 26. The air filter 26 may also be provided with a bracket around its outer peripheral portion to cooperate with the bracket of the holding device 28. This arrangement is believed to be beneficial in helping the air filter 26 retain its shape by providing structural support against the shear forces applied to it by the operation of the fan 34 when the apparatus is in use.

The fan 34 is oriented such that, in use of the apparatus, the fan 34 is operable to draw air in a generally upward direction through the air inlet 14 and air filter before pushing the air out in the direction of arrow 30' towards the air outlet 18.

Air can also enter through the air inlet 14 and/or through a separate air inlet (not shown) to travel in the channel 32 in the direction of arrow 32' toward the heater 24. The air stream 32' will entrain the air treatment agent and leave the apparatus via the air outlet 18. Keeping the air streams 30 'and 32' separate is considered advantageous for a number of reasons, particularly because the heat applied by the heater 24 to the refill wick will not be cooled by the increased air flow propelled by the fan 34. Furthermore, this will provide the user with the option of operating the two functions of the device independently, if necessary, which would not be possible if separate air passages 30, 32 and air streams 30 ', 32' were not available.

The illustrated device 1 has a cord (not shown) with a plug configuration at the distal end to drive the device using municipal power. However, the device may use any suitable power source, such as a battery and/or solar panel, etc.

All of the features disclosed in this application (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this application (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not limited to the detailed description of the foregoing embodiments. The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this application (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims (23)

1. An air treatment device, comprising: a housing having at least one air inlet and at least one air outlet with at least one air passage therebetween; at least one fan positioned in the at least one air channel; at least one air filter retaining means arranged, in use, to releasably retain an air filter within the channel; at least one refill securing means arranged to releasably secure a refill of air treatment agent within the housing; a dissemination device within the housing; and wherein the housing is configured with a door to allow access to at least the air filter retaining means; and wherein the air filter retaining means is configured to move from a first position when the door is closed in which the air filter substantially completely obstructs the at least one air passage, to a second position when the door is open such that the air filter no longer substantially completely obstructs the at least one air passage.

2. An air treatment device, comprising: a housing having at least one air inlet and at least one air outlet with at least one air passage therebetween; at least one fan positioned in the at least one air channel; at least one air filter retaining means arranged, in use, to releasably retain a planar air filter within the passageway; at least one refill securing means arranged to releasably secure a refill of air treatment agent within the housing; a dissemination device within the housing; and wherein the housing is configured with a door to allow access to at least the air filter retaining means; and wherein the air filter retaining device is configured to move from a first position when the door is closed, in which the air filter is substantially parallel to the at least one fan, to a second position when the door is open, in which the air filter is not substantially parallel to the at least one fan.

3. An air treatment device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the device has two different air channels, one channel allowing air to enter the device via an air inlet in use to be pushed and/or sucked through an air filter by the fan and out of the device via the air outlet; another passage allows air to enter the apparatus via an alternative air inlet when in use and to pass through the spreading means before exiting the apparatus via the air outlet.

4. An air treatment device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device has a guide means incorporated within the air filter retaining means.

5. An air treatment device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device has an air filter retaining arrangement configured to be able to support substantially all of the peripheral portion of an air filter.

6. An air treatment device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device has a single set of refill securing means.

7. An air treatment device according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the device has at least two sets of refill securing means.

8. An air treatment device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device is provided with a single door which in an open position enables access to both the air filter retaining means and the refill securing means.

9. An air treatment device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device allows movement of the releasable air filter via a pivot mechanism; the inner surface of the door is configured with a pair of projecting arms having pivot points at distal ends, a pair of levers are respectively pivotably connected to the pivot points, and the distal ends of the levers are respectively pivotably connected to the air filter holding means; and a biasing spring is connected about one or both of the pivot points and bears against the arm and the lever.

10. An air treatment device according to claim 9, wherein the device has: a first position in which the door is closed and the releasable air filter is held substantially parallel and adjacent to the fan; and a second position when the door is open in which the air filter is moved from a position parallel and adjacent to the fan into a substantially vertical orientation and/or occupies a position occupied by the door in the closed position such that the planar surface of the air filter can be clearly visually inspected by a user.

11. An air treatment device according to any of claims 1-8, wherein the air filter retaining means is mounted to the door of the housing such that it projects substantially perpendicularly relative to the longitudinal elongate shape of the door on the device.

12. The air treatment device of claim 11, wherein when the door is moved to the open position such that the door is substantially parallel to a surface on which the device is placed, the air filter will be oriented substantially perpendicular to the surface.

13. An air treatment device according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the air filter and/or air filter retaining means is in contact with both a biasing means and the door or a stop member in contact with the door in the first position, such that the door or stop member opposes the force exerted by the biasing means on the air filter and/or air filter retaining means.

14. An air treatment device according to claim 13, wherein the biasing means comprises one or more springs located in the device substantially opposite the air filter or a portion of the air filter arrangement that contacts the door or stop member in the first position.

15. An air treatment device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device is provided with a plurality of feet which can raise the base of the device away from a surface on which the device is to be placed; and wherein at least one said air inlet is located in said base of the apparatus.

16. An air treatment device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device is provided with guide means for the supplement of air treatment agent.

17. An air treatment device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device is for use with a multi-layer air filter in use.

18. A multi-layer air filter for use in an apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the air filter is configured to provide the air filter with at least one of the following characteristics: a mechanical filter layer; an electrostatic filter layer; a malodor reduction layer; a contaminant reduction layer.

19. The air filter of claim 18, wherein the air filter is configured with at least two of the characteristics.

20. The air filter of claim 18, wherein the air filter is configured with at least three of the characteristics.

21. The air filter of claim 18, wherein the air filter is configured with at least four of the characteristics.

22. The air filter of claim 18, wherein the air filter is a multi-layer air filter configured with different layers having different characteristics.

23. The air filter of claim 18, wherein the air filter is operable to remove at least 50% of malodors filtered thereby.