Air Purifier

Description

This application is a continuation that claims the benefit of priority and is entitled to the filing date pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 17/967,823, filed Oct. 17, 2022, a 35 U.S.C. § 111 patent application which claims the benefit of priority and is entitled to the filing date pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/256,598, filed Oct. 17, 2021, the content of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to an air purifier, and more particularly to a direct plug-in air purifier.

BACKGROUND

An air purifier is a device used to remove contaminating particles (such as dust, pollen, and dander) from the air. These particles can trigger allergies, asthma, or other respiratory irritation. Some air purifiers are designed to directly plug into an electrical outlet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various ones of the appended drawings merely illustrate example embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be considered as limiting its scope.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a portion of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a portion of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a portion of an air purifier according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure can provide an air purifier that is relatively small and portable and can be easily plugged directly into a wall outlet. The air purifier can include a mechanical filter (e.g., a HEPA filter) to trap airborne particles such as dust, pollen, and dander. It can also include an air ionizer that charges airborne particles to make them heavy so that they fall to the ground or a nearby surface. Thus, the air purifier can provide two levels of protection against airborne pollutants so that a user can breathe more comfortably.

In addition, in some embodiments, the air purifier can include various light modes to indicate different fan speeds. For instance, a low intensity light may indicate a low fan speed, and a high intensity light may indicate a high fan speed. This can allow a user to easily determine a working status of the air purifier. The air purifier can also be used as a night light.

The present disclosure provides a direct plug-in air purifier. According to an exemplary embodiment, the air purifier includes a front shell comprising a recessed portion configured to hold a mechanical air filter. The air purifier further includes a rear shell attached to the front shell and including an air outlet. The air purifier further includes an air ionizer and a fan, both of which are disposed in a space defined between the front shell and the rear shell. The air purifier further includes a front cover releasably attached to the front shell and configured to allow air to pass therethrough. The fan is configured to draw air through the front cover, the mechanical filter, and an air guide formed in the recessed portion, and to expel air through the air outlet.

In the above embodiment, the air outlet can be disposed at an upper portion of the back shell so as to expel air upward. The fan can be disposed adjacent to the air guide. The fan can be a centrifugal fan. The air guide can have a radial shape. The filter can be a HEPA filter. The air purifier can include an LED disposed in the space. The middle shell can include an opening or a window for allowing light from the LED to pass therethrough. The air purifier can include a plurality of LEDs disposed in the space, wherein the middle shell comprises a plurality of openings or windows for allowing light from respective LEDs to pass therethrough. The plurality of openings or windows can be arranged on opposite sides of the recessed portion. The intensity of the light can be variable based on a speed of the fan.

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 shows an air purifier 100 according to an example embodiment. The air purifier 100 includes a rear shell 10, a front shell 12, and a front cover 14, each of which is made of plastic.

The front cover includes openings 17 which allow air to flow through the front cover. The rear shell includes an air outlet 16 at the top portion of the shell to expel air upward while the air purifier 100 is in use. As such, purified air can be released into an upward direction into a room to allow a user to breathe more easily.

The air purifier 100 includes a narrow window 18 for allowing light from an LED arranged behind the window to shine therethrough. The front cover 14 contains a cut-out portion 19 so that this light is more visible to the user.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air purifier 100 includes a push button 20 that allows the user to turn the air purifier on/off In addition, the push button 20 allows the user to switch between different operation modes. This will be discussed in more detail below.

FIG. 3 shows a rear perspective view of the air purifier 100. The rear shell 10 includes screw holes for receiving fasteners to attach the front shell 12 and the rear shell 10 to one another.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the air purifier further includes an interchangeable plug 30. The plug 30 can be removed by pressing the button 32 and rotating the plug 30 counterclockwise. FIG. 2 shows a Type A plug (US, Canada, and Mexico). This plug can be interchanged with other type of plugs, for example, a Type C Plug (Europe, Asia & South America), depending on the user's location.

FIGS. 4-7 show various perspective views of the air purifier 100. As illustrated in those figures, the rear shell 10 includes a connecting part 40 for connecting to the interchangeable plug 30.

FIG. 8 shows an exploded view of the air purifier 100. As illustrated in this figure, the air purifier includes a replaceable mechanical filter 80. The mechanical filter 80 is a pleated filter with a dense web of fine particles, such as a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. This filter can effectively capture up to 99.97 percent of particles of a certain size (0.3 microns). The mechanical filter 80 can include activated carbon that can absorb odor-causing molecules from the air. The mechanical filter 80 can be replaced when it begins to show wear or starts building up dirt and grime.

The air purifier 100 further includes plural light diffusers 81 that are placed over respective plural light emitting diode (LED) light strips 83. The LED light strips have LEDs mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). The LED brightness ranges from 0.049 to 0.089 lux. The plural light diffusers 81 are made of opaque plastic to allow light to be transmitted therethrough.

The air purifier 100 further includes a PCB 82 which includes a push-button. When a user presses the button 20, this in tum applies pressure to the button on the PCB 82. This action can tum the device on/off or cycle through different modes (discussed in more detail below).

The air purifier 100 further includes an air ionizer 85. The air ionizer 85 releases negative ions into the air. The negative ions attach to airborne particulates such as dust, pollen, or mold spores. This gives the particles an electrical charge, causing them to clump together and land on the floor or nearby surfaces. Once the particles have landed on something, they can be easily cleaned up. The air ionizer can emit a negative ion output of up to 50 million pcs/cm³. In other embodiments, the negative ion output can be 50 million pcs/cm³ or greater, more particularly 110 million pcs/cm³ or greater, and even more particularly 130 million pcs/cm³ or greater. In some embodiments, the negative ion output ranges from about 110 to about 180 million pcs/cm³, or more particularly from about 130 to about 160 million pcs/cm³.

The air purifier 100 further includes a centrifugal fan 86. The fan 86 is used to draw air through the front cover 14, the mechanical filter 80, an opening in the front shell 12, and into the space defined by the front shell 12 and the rear shell 10. The fan 86 then expels the air out of the rear shell I0's outlet 16.

The air purifier 100 further contains metal pins 87 for electrical connection to the interchangeable plug 30. The metal pins 87 extend from an inside of the device to an outside of the device where they protrude from a surface of the connecting part 40. To attach the plug 30 to the device, the metal pins 87 are inserted into slots on the plug 30 and the plug 30 is turned clockwise to lock the plug 30 into place.

The air purifier 100 further includes a main control PCB 84. The main control PCB 84 is electrically connected to the push-button board 82, the LED light strips 83, the air ionizer 85, the fan 86, and the metal pins 87. The main control PCB 84 controls the functioning of the LED light strips 83, the air ionizer 85, and the fan 86, based on input from the push-button PCB 82.

The push-button PCB 82, the light strips 83, the main control 84, the air ionizer 85, and the fan 86 are disposed in the space defined by the front shell 12 and the rear shell 10. In addition, at least a portion of each of the light diffusers 81 is arranged in this space.

FIG. 9 shows a front perspective view of the front shell 12. The front cover 12 includes a recessed portion 92 into which replaceable mechanical filter 80 can be inserted. The shape of the recessed portion 92 corresponds to a shape of the mechanical filter. The mechanical filter 80 fits snuggly into the recessed portion 92 such that the filter is held in place without the need for any additional attachment mechanism. As such, the user is able to quickly and easily remove and replace the mechanical filter 80.

The front shell 12 further includes an air guide 94 with a radial shape. This allows for air to be efficiently directed into the fan 86, which is arranged directly behind the air guide. As shown in FIG. 9, the air guide 94 is formed in an upper area of the recessed portion.

Further, the front shell 12 includes slots 90 for allowing the light from the LED strips 83 to pass therethrough, so as to be visible by the user. As shown in FIG. 9, the slots 90 are disposed on opposite sides of the recessed portion 92, and extend along the length of the recessed portion 92. By virtue of this arrangement, the user can view light from the gaps between the front cover 14 and the front shell 12. Such gaps are disposed at the cut-out portions of the front cover 14, as shown in FIG. 1.

The front cover 12 also includes receptacles 96 disposed above the recessed portion 92, and a receptacle 98 formed below the recessed portion 92. The receptacles 96 and 98 receive protruding male portions on the underside of the front cover 14 so that that the front cover can be releasably attached. A user is able to remove the front cover 14 to replace the filter 80 by pulling the cover outward away from the device. After the filter 80 has been replaced, the user can re-attach the front cover 14 by inserting the male portions of the front cover 14 into the receptacles 96 and 98 and applying pressure so that the front cover is held in place.

FIG. 10 shows an underside of the front shell 12 (the side facing the rear shell 10). The light strip 83 can be installed in the region 110 by inserting fasteners into the holes 102. The light strip 83 is installed over the opening 90 with the LEDs facing the opening so that light is shown through the opening.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the rear shell 10. The rear shell 10 includes a ringed portion 112 on which the fan 86 is installed. The fan 86 is installed immediately behind the air guide 94 formed in the front cover 12. The fan 86 can be attached to the rear shell using fasteners or an adhesive. The rear shell 10 also includes an ionizer installation portion 114 where the air ionizer 85 is installed.

As shown in FIG. 12, the light diffuser 81 is placed over the front side of the light strip 83. The light diffuser 81 is made from opaque plastic and is used for even distribution of the light from the LEDs on the light strip 83. The light diffuser 81 includes an elongated protruding portion 120 that fits into slot 90 of the front shell 12. The shape of the light diffuser 81 and the slot 90 correspond to one another. This creates a window allowing the diffused light to be visible by the user. In an alternative embodiment, the front shell may have an integrated light diffuser, with the LED light strip being arranged directly behind the integrated light diffuser.

As shown in FIG. 13, the fan 86 is a centrifugal fan which includes a fan wheel 130, a fan housing 132, and a fan outlet 134. The fan 86 is arranged so that the fan outlet 134 faces the air outlet 16 of the air purifier 100. As such, air expelled from the fan 86 is able to flow through the air outlet 16 and out of the device. The fan 86 has at least two speeds.

Once the fan 86 is running, air is drawn through the openings 18 in the front cover 14. Next, the air is drawn through the mechanical filter 80 housed in the recessed portion 92 of the front shell 12. The air then passes through the air guide 94 formed in the recessed portion 92 and into the space defined by the front and rear shells. After that, the air is ionized by the air ionizer 85 so as to be further purified. Finally, the purified air flows upward through the outlet 16.

The air purifier 100 has different operation modes. In some embodiments, the air purifier has at least five different modes. For example, in Mode 1, the device is turned on, with the air ionizer being activated, the fan being set to low speed, and the LEDs being set to low brightness (e.g., 50% brightness). In Mode 2, the ionizer remains on, the fan is set to high speed, and the LEDs are set to high brightness (e.g., 100% brightness). In Mode 3, the ionizer remains on, the fan is set to low, and the LEDs are turned off In Mode 4, the ionizer remains on, the fan is set to high, and the LEDs remain off In Mode 5, the air purifier 100 is turned off entirely.

The user presses button 20 to set his or her preferred mode. The user can cycle through different modes by consecutively pressing the button 20. For instance, the user presses the button once for Mode 1, twice for Mode 2, three times for Mode 3, etc. The main controller then controls the fan, ionizer, LEDs, and device power accordingly.

The air purifier according to the instant disclosure can have a relatively compact and portable design. For example, in some embodiments, the air purifier has the following dimensions: 13.25×8.6×8 cm. The user can thereby easily transport the air purifier from one location to another.

By virtue of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a compact air purifier that can perform both mechanical filtration and air ionization. The air purifier can cover an area of up to 150 square feet. In addition, the air purifier is easy to install-it plugs directly into a standard wall outlet. Furthermore, the air purifier has an LED illumination system that can notify the user of the operational state as well as act as a night light

While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. For example, it is to be understood that the disclosure contemplates that, to the extent possible, one or more features of any embodiment can be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment.