Air sanitation devices and systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11129918-B1
Application number	US-202017064875-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Oct 7, 2020
Priority date	Jul 30, 2020
Publication date	Sep 28, 2021
Grant date	Sep 28, 2021

Abstract

An air sanitation device is disclosed. The air sanitation device can include a base section, a body section, and an air movement device configured to move air through at least a portion of the air sanitation device. The air sanitation device can move air from an inlet of the air sanitation device, and past an ultraviolet (UV) light source, and out an outlet of the air sanitation device. The air sanitation device can be configured to draw in air from within or below a breathing zone. The air sanitation device can be configured to draw in air from below the breathing zone and output sanitized air. The sanitized air can be outputted at an angle such that the sanitized air flows in a generally downward direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An air sanitation device having a central axis extending therethrough in a generally vertical direction, the air sanitation device comprising:
a free-standing base section comprising one or more inlets disposed at a height that is less than or equal to approximately 4.5 feet with respect to a bottom of the base section;
a body section comprising one or more outlets disposed at a height that is greater than or equal to approximately 7 feet with respect to the bottom of the base section, each of the one or more outlets configured to discharge air in a plurality of discharge directions, each of the plurality of discharge directions being at least partially radially outward from the central axis;
an ultraviolet (UV) light source disposed in an interior of the air sanitation device;
an air movement device configured to move air into the base section via the one or more inlets, past the UV light source, and out of the body section via the one or more outlets; and
a controller configured to:
determine a location of an additional air sanitation device; and
output instructions for directing a flow of discharged air toward one or more inlets of the additional air sanitation device.

2. The air sanitation device of claim 1 further comprising a filter at least partially disposed in the interior of the air sanitation device.

3. The air sanitation device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more outlets comprise an air distribution device configured to direct a flow such that at least some of the plurality of discharge directions has a downward angle.

4. The air sanitation device of claim 3 , wherein the downward angle is between approximately 1 degree and approximately 30 degrees with respect to horizontal.

5. The air sanitation device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more outlets comprise an air distribution device configured to direct a flow such that at least some of the plurality of discharge directions has an upward angle.

6. The air sanitation device of claim 5 , wherein the upward angle is between approximately 1 degree and approximately 80 degrees with respect to horizontal.

7. The air sanitation device of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the plurality of discharge directions are each in a generally horizontal direction.

8. The air sanitation device of claim 1 , wherein the air movement device is configured to discharge air between approximately 150 cubic feet per minute (CFM) and approximately 200 CFM.

9. An air sanitation device having a central axis extending therethrough in a generally vertical direction, the air sanitation device comprising:
a free-standing base section comprising one or more inlets configured to draw in air at a height that is within a breathing zone defined as being between approximately 4.5 feet above ground and approximately 7.2 feet above ground;
a body section comprising one or more outlets configured to discharge air at a height that is greater than or equal to approximately 7 feet above ground, each of the one or more outlets configured to discharge air in a plurality of discharge directions, each of the plurality of discharge directions being at least partially radially outward from the central axis;
an ultraviolet (UV) light source disposed in an interior of the air sanitation device;
an air movement device configured to move air into the base section via the one or more inlets, past the UV light source, and out of the body section via the one or more outlets and
a controller configured to:
determine a location of an additional air sanitation device; and

output instructions for directing a flow of discharged air toward one or more inlets of the additional air sanitation device.

10. The air sanitation device of claim 9 , wherein the air sanitation device is configured to be installed on the ground, the one or more inlets being disposed at a height that is between approximately 4.5 feet and approximately 7.2 feet from a bottom of the base section.

11. The air sanitation device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more inlets comprise at least one of (i) a first inlet disposed at a height that is approximately five feet with respect to the bottom of the base section and (ii) a second inlet disposed at a height that is approximately 7 feet with respect to the bottom of the base section.

12. The air sanitation device of claim 9 , wherein the air sanitation device is configured to be installed on an elevated surface, the one or more inlets being disposed at a height that is between approximately 1.5 feet and approximately 2.5 feet from a bottom of the base section.

13. The air sanitation device of claim 12 , wherein the one or more outlets are disposed at a height greater than approximately 2.75 feet from the bottom of the base section.

14. The air sanitation device of claim 9 further comprising a filter at least partially disposed in the interior of the air sanitation device.

15. The air sanitation device of claim 9 , wherein at least some of the plurality of discharge directions are each in a generally horizontal direction.

16. The air sanitation device of claim 9 , wherein the air movement device is configured to discharge an airflow between approximately 150 cubic feet per minute (CFM) and approximately 200 CFM.

17. An air sanitation system comprising:
a plurality of air sanitation devices comprising:
one or more first air sanitation devices, each of the one or more first air sanitation devices having a central axis extending therethrough in a generally vertical direction and comprising:
a free-standing base section comprising one or more inlets disposed at a height that is less than or equal to approximately 4.5 feet with respect to a bottom of the base section;
a body section comprising one or more outlets disposed at a height that is greater than or equal to approximately 7 feet with respect to the bottom of the base section, each of the one or more outlets configured to discharge air in a plurality of discharge directions, each of the plurality of discharge directions being at least partially radially outward from the central axis;
an ultraviolet (UV) light source; and
an air movement device configured to move air into the base section via the one or more inlets, past the UV light source, and out of the body section via the one or more outlets; and

one or more second air sanitation devices, each of the one or more second air sanitation devices having a central axis extending therethrough in a generally vertical direction and comprising:
a free-standing base section comprising one or more inlets disposed at a height that is within a breathing zone defined as being between approximately 4.5 feet above ground and approximately 7.2 feet above ground;
a body section comprising one or more outlets disposed at a height that is greater than or equal to approximately 7 feet with respect to the bottom of the base section, each of the one or more outlets configured to discharge air in a plurality of discharge directions, each of the plurality of discharge directions being at least partially radially outward from the central axis;
a UV light source; and
an air movement device configured to move air into the base section via the one or more inlets, past the UV light source, and out of the body section via the one or more outlets,

wherein at least one of the plurality of air sanitation devices is configured to:
determine a location of another of the plurality of air sanitation devices; and
output instructions for directing a flow of discharged air toward the one or more inlets of the another of the plurality of air s

Assignees

• Rheem Mfg Co

Inventors

• Shellenberger Timothy J
• Trant Troy E
• Manay Atilhan
• Srivastava Shubham

Classifications

• A61L9/20 Primary

  Ultraviolet radiation · CPC title

• A61L2209/111

  Sensor means, e.g. motion, brightness, scent, contaminant sensors · CPC title

• A61L2209/16

  Connections to a HVAC unit · CPC title

• A61L2209/14

  Filtering means · CPC title

• A61L2209/12

  Lighting means · CPC title