Eco-humidifier for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016200179-A1
Application number	US-201514934977-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 6, 2015
Priority date	Jan 14, 2015
Publication date	Jul 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An eco-humidifier for a vehicle performs a humidifying function by using solar light energy without separate power, and includes: a case having space to accommodate water and in which a light collecting device is installed on a top of the case so as to concentrate solar light; multiple metallic nano particles that sink in the water accommodated in the case to absorb the solar light passing through the light collecting device; and a condenser, an evaporator, and a blower motor connected with one upper side of the case via a connection pipe, where the metallic nano particles are heated by a surface Plasmon resonance phenomenon to vaporize the water to vapor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An eco-humidifier for a vehicle, comprising:
a case having a space configured to accommodate water therein, the case having a top for receiving a light collecting device configured to concentrate solar light; multiple metallic nano particles that sink in the water accommodated in the case to absorb the solar light passing through the light collecting device; and a condenser, an evaporator, and a blower motor connected with an upper side of the case via a connection pipe, wherein the metallic nano particles are heated by a surface Plasmon resonance phenomenon to vaporize the water to vapor.

2 . The eco-humidifier of claim 1 , wherein the case is installed on an interior dashboard of the vehicle or a sunroof mounted on a roof panel of the vehicle.

3 . The eco-humidifier of claim 1 , wherein the light collecting device is configured as a Fresnel lens.

4 . The eco-humidifier of claim 1 , wherein the metallic nano particles comprise at least one of a gold (Au) nano particle, a silver (Ag) nano particle, or a copper (Cu) nano particle.

5 . The eco-humidifier of claim 1 , wherein the metallic nano particles include at least one of gold, silver, and copper particles.

6 . The eco-humidifier of claim 1 , wherein the metallic nano particles are selected from the group consisting of: gold (Au) nano particles, a silver (Ag) nano particles, and copper (Cu) nano particles.

7 . The eco-humidifier of claim 1 , further comprising:
an opening/closing valve installed on the connection pipe connecting the case and the condenser, the opening/closing valve being controlled by an electronic control unit (ECU) of the vehicle to control the amount of the vapor passing through the connection pipe.

8 . An eco-humidifier for a vehicle, comprising:
a case having a space configured to accommodate water therein; a light collecting device installed in a top of the case, the light collecting device configured to concentrate solar light; and multiple metallic nano particles made of at least one of gold, silver, and copper, the metallic nano particles configured to sink in the water accommodated in the case to absorb the solar light passing through the light collecting device, wherein the metallic nano particles are heated by a surface Plasmon resonance phenomenon to vaporize the water to vapor.

9 . The eco-humidifier of claim 8 , further comprising a condenser, an evaporator, and a blower motor connected with an upper side of the case via a connection pipe.

10 . The eco-humidifier of claim 9 , further comprising:
an opening/closing valve installed on the connection pipe connecting the case and the condenser, the opening/closing valve being controlled by an electronic control unit (ECU) of the vehicle to control the amount of the vapor passing through the connection pipe.

11 . The eco-humidifier of claim 8 , wherein the case is installed on an interior dashboard of the vehicle or a sunroof mounted on a roof panel of the vehicle.

12 . The eco-humidifier of claim 8 , wherein the light collecting device is configured as a Fresnel lens.

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Jee-Jung

Classifications

• F25B27/002

  using solar energy · CPC title

• B60H2003/026

  the devices being located in the passenger compartment · CPC title

• B60H3/022 Primary

  for only humidifying the air · CPC title

• B01F23/20

  Mixing gases with liquids · CPC title

• Y02E10/52

  PV systems with concentrators · CPC title