WO2006137650A1

WO2006137650A1 - Indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow

Info

Publication number: WO2006137650A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/002250
Authority: WO
Inventors: Young-Soon Park
Original assignee: Young-Soon Park
Priority date: 2005-06-21
Filing date: 2006-06-13
Publication date: 2006-12-28
Also published as: KR100601363B1

Abstract

An indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow includes a bracket (10) fixed to a ceiling, an indoor floating dust collector centrally installed on the bracket (10), and at least one brightness adjustable illumination lamp (30) placed around the indoor floating dust collector, so that brightness of an indoor space can be adjusted and indoor floating dust can be collected and filtered. The indoor floating dust collector comprises a driving motor (40) installed in a motor housing (12) which is mounted to a center portion of the bracket (10); a fan housing (50) secured in a recess (22) which is defined over a predetermined area on a center portion of an illuminator cover (20); a fan (60) installed in the fan housing (50) and coupled to a distal end of a rotation shaft of the driving motor (40) to be rotated thereby; a filter case (70) fastened to a lower end of the fan housing (50), having disposed therein a filtering unit (72), and defined with a grille-patterned opening (74) on a lower end thereof to allow polluted indoor air to be introduced therein through the opening (74), a side wall (75) of the filter case (70) for defining the opening (74) being inclined so that air can be smoothly introduced into the filter case (70); and an anion generator (80) arranged between a lower end of the fan (60) and the filter case (70).

Description

INDOOR FLOATING DUST COLLECTING APPARATUS USING CONVECTION FLOW

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates, in general, to an indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow, and more particularly, to an indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow which is installed in a conventional illuminator attached to a ceiling, etc. in a house, an office or the like to suck, remove and deodorize indoor floating dust so that not only an illumination function for optimizing the brightness of an indoor space is rendered under the control of a remote controller, but also convection flow is promoted to effectively filter and collect indoor floating dust, thereby providing pleasant living or working circumstances. Background Art

[2] As is generally known in the art, an air cleaner functions to suck and purify polluted indoor air and to discharge fresh air so that pleasant indoor circumstances can be created. That is to say, in the air cleaner, polluted indoor air is sucked using a fan, and fine dust and bacteria are collected and odors are filtered out by a filter arranged inside the fan so that fresh air can be discharged to an indoor space.

[3] Recently, an anion generator is additionally disposed in the air cleaner to generate anions which are beneficial to human health. That is to say, an air cleaner, which is further upgraded in its functionality in order to effectively reduce damage by harmful indoor substances, has been developed and put on the market.

[4] Air cleaners are usually divided into a stand type air cleaner or a wall mount type air cleaner. Therefore, in use, an air cleaner is placed at a proper position in a room or is mounted to a wall to be maintained at a height which is separated from a floor by a desired distance.

[5] However, in the conventional stand type air cleaner, since a space for placing the air cleaner is required, limitations necessarily exist in installing the air cleaner in a narrow indoor space such as a warehouse. Also, in the conventional wall mount type air cleaner, while installation limitations are somewhat lessened in comparison with the stand type air cleaner, it also separately occupies a space.

[6] In particular, the stand type and the wall mount type air cleansers suffer from defects in that they cannot uniformly purify indoor air when they are installed and actuated.

[7] That is to say, since an anion generated in the conventional air cleaner has a specific weight which is (1.225 times) greater than that of atmospheric air, the generated anion sinks to the floor. Due to this phenomenon, in the case of the stand type air cleaner, because it is used in a state in which it stands on the floor or is placed on a table, etc. in a room, only the air existing in the lower part of the room can be purified, and the air existing in the upper part of the room cannot be reliably purified, as a result of which the indoor air cannot be uniformly purified. Further, in the case of the wall mount type air cleaner, an air purification range cannot but be limited to a certain extent, so air purification effect gradually decreases in a direction facing away from the wall on which the air cleaner is mounted, whereby air purification cannot be effectively implemented throughout the entire indoor space and thereby air purification capability is degraded.

[8] Meanwhile, an illuminator generally known in the art is installed on a ceiling, etc. in a house, an office or the like to light an indoor space. Since this conventional illuminator simply performs an illumination function, it has limited functionality. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[9] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow which comprises a filter, a fan and an anion generator and is installed in a conventional illuminator attached to a ceiling, etc. in a house, an office or the like to suck, remove and deodorize indoor floating dust so that not only an illumination control function for optimizing the brightness of an indoor space is rendered under the control of a remote controller, but also indoor air is purified by the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow, to provide pleasant living or working circumstances, whereby, due to the common installation of the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus and the brightness adjustable illuminator on the ceiling, convection flow of air is promoted, indoor floating dust suction effect is maximized by the promoted convection flow, and anions can be uniformly distributed everywhere in the indoor space. Technical Solution

[10] In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow, including a bracket fixed to a ceiling, an indoor floating dust collector centrally installed on the bracket, and at least one brightness adjustable illumination lamp placed around the indoor floating dust collector, so that brightness of an indoor space can be adjusted and indoor floating dust can be collected and filtered, the indoor floating dust collector comprising a driving motor installed in a motor housing which is mounted to a center portion of the bracket; a fan housing secured in a recess which is defined over a predetermined area on a center portion of an illuminator cover; a fan installed in the fan housing and coupled to a distal end of a rotation shaft of the driving motor to be rotated thereby; a filter case fastened to a lower end of the fan housing, having disposed therein a filtering unit, and defined with a grille-patterned opening on a lower end thereof to allow polluted indoor air to be introduced therein through the opening, a side wall of the filter case for defining the opening being inclined so that indoor air can be smoothly introduced into the filter case; and an anion generator arranged between a lower end of the fan and the filter case.

[11] According to another aspect of the present invention, an inner wall of the fan housing is inclined to be flared outward such that, when purified air is discharged to the outside, the discharged clean air can form an outwardly flared air film which defines a predetermined angle with respect to a vertical line.

[12] According to another aspect of the present invention, the filtering unit comprises a prefilter having the shape of a fine mesh for filtering dust, mote, the fur of a pet, etc., a deodorization filter for removing offensive odors, and a carbon filter for filtering fine dust and various harmful bacteria, which are stacked upon one another into multiple layers.

[13] According to still another aspect of the present invention, in order to ensure easy replacement of the filtering unit disposed in the filter case, the filter case is divided into a lower case which defines the opening and an upper case which is fastened to the fan housing.

[14] According to yet still another aspect of the present invention, a wing member of which both ends are bent downward is installed on the lower end of the filter case through which the opening is defined, such that introduction of polluted indoor air into the filter case and collection of noxious dust contained in air can be reliably implemented. Brief Description of the Drawings

[15] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[16] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 1;

[17] FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention;

[18] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating operations of the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; and

[19] FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged schematic view illustrating the in-use state of the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[20] Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

[21] Briefly describing the attached drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an illuminator having an air purifying function in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the illuminator having an air purifying function in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.

[22] Referring to FIGs. 1 and 2, an indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow which constitutes the subject matter of the present invention includes a bracket 10 fixed to a ceiling in a house, an office, etc. At least one brightness adjustable illumination lamp (comprising a quadrangular fluorescent lamp in the present embodiment) 30 is supported by a support (not shown) on the lower end of the bracket 10. An illuminator cover 20 is mounted to the edge of the bracket 10 to protect the illumination lamp 30.

[23] A motor housing 12 is mounted to the center portion of the bracket 10, and a driving motor 40 for driving a fan is installed in the motor housing 12. A recess 22 is defined over a predetermined area on the center portion of the illuminator cover 20, and a fan housing 50 is secured in the recess 22.

[24] The inner wall 52 of the fan housing 50 is inclined to be flared outward such that, when air purified by the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus is discharged into an indoor space, the discharged clean air can be reliably discharged downward while forming an outwardly flared air film (see FIG. 2).

[25] A fan 60 is installed in the fan housing 50 and is coupled to the distal end of the rotation shaft of the driving motor 40 to be rotated thereby.

[26] It is preferred that the fan 60 comprise a sirocco fan which is employed in a conventional blower. The sirocco fan is a kind of a centrifugal blower in which a plurality of blades are secured to the circumferential outer surface of a cylindrical impeller such that air can be introduced through the center portion of the impeller and can be discharged radially outward of the impeller while significantly reducing noise generation.

[27] A filter case 70 is fastened to the lower end of the fan housing 50, and a filtering unit 72 is disposed in the filter case 70. An anion generator 80 having anion generating electrodes is arranged between the lower end of the fan 60 and the filter case 70.

[28] An opening 74 having a grilled mesh and extending in a circumferential direction is defined through the lower end of the filter case 70 to allow polluted indoor air to be introduced into the filter case 70 through the opening 74 through driving of the fan 60. The side wall 75 of the filter case 70 which defines the opening 74 is inclined so that indoor air can be smoothly introduced into the filter case 70. A wing member 90 of which both ends are bent downward is installed on the lower end of the filter case 70 through which the opening 74 is defined, such that introduction of polluted indoor air into the filter case 70 and collection of noxious dust contained in air can be reliably implemented.

[29] The filtering unit 72 comprises a prefilter having the shape of a fine mesh, a de- odorization filter, and a carbon filter, which are sequentially stacked upon one another. In the structure of the filtering unit 72, it is preferred that dust, mote, the fur of a pet, etc. be primarily filtered, offensive odors contained in air be then removed, and fine dust and various harmful bacteria be finally filtered so as to allow fresh air to be provided into the indoor space. However, various filters such as a corpuscle filter for filtering corpuscles, an antibiotic filter for preventing the propagation of mold or microorganisms in dust, and the like, can be added to or replaced with those filters.

[30] Further, in order to ensure easy replacement of the filtering unit 72 disposed in the filter case 70, the filter case 70 is divided into a lower case which defines the opening 74 and an upper case which is fastened to the fan housing 50.

[31] The unexplained reference numeral 32 designates a ballast, 52 LEDs for indicating the operational status of the apparatus, and 54 a remote control signal receiver for receiving a remote control signal.

[32] FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention. In order to control the operations of the respective component parts in the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus constructed as mentioned above, a controller including various control circuits must be located at a proper position in the apparatus. The controller according to the present invention includes a power supply circuit 101 for receiving source power, transducing source power into a voltage needed in a system and supplying the voltage to the respective component parts; a fluorescent lamp control circuit 102 for turning on and off the ballast 32 of the brightness adjustable illumination lamp 30 and for adjusting brightness of the brightness adjustable illumination lamp 30 under the control from the outside; and a motor control circuit 103 for turning on and off the driving motor 40 and for adjusting the rotational speed of the driving motor 40 under the control from the outside. Further, the controller includes a high voltage generation circuit 104 for supplying a high voltage to the anion generator 80 under the control from the outside; a key input circuit 105 for inputting a user's instruction signal through manipulation of various input keys; an LED circuit 106 for turning on the plurality of LEDs 52 to notify the operational status of the system to the outside and for controlling a current applied to each LED 52 to adjust brightness thereof, under the control from the outside; a buzzer 107 for generating a buzzing sound upon operation of the respective component parts, under the control from the outside; a remote control signal receiving circuit 108 for receiving the user's instruction signal through a remote controller; and a microcomputer 109 for controlling the operations of the respective component parts.

[33] Here, the microcomputer 109 functions to control the respective component parts, to output a control signal to the fluorescent lamp control circuit 102 in response to the user's instruction signal inputted from the key input circuit 105 or the remote control signal receiving circuit 108, and to thereby turn on or off and adjust the brightness of the brightness adjustable illumination lamp 30. Moreover, the microcomputer 109 functions to output control signals to the motor control circuit 103 and the high voltage generation circuit 104 and thereby turn on or off and adjust the rotational speed of the driving motor 40 and generate anions through the anion generator 80, to output a control signal to the LED circuit 106 and thereby display the operational status of the respective component parts and adjust the brightness of the LEDs 52, and to control the buzzer 107 upon operation of the respective component parts and thereby generate the buzzing sound. Therefore, the microcomputer 109 performs a main function in the operation of the apparatus.

[34] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the operation flow of the controller. Hereafter, the operations of the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

[35] In a state in which the microcomputer 109 is initialized, if a remote control signal is inputted to the microcomputer 109, the microcomputer 109 first determines whether the inputted signal is a motor control signal for driving the fan 60. If it is determined that the inputted signal is a motor control signal, an operation command is applied to the motor control circuit 103 to control the driving speed and the driving time of the motor 40, and at the same time, the high voltage generation circuit 104 is operated to generate anions.

[36] If it is determined that the inputted signal is not a motor control signal, the microcomputer 109 determines again whether the inputted signal is a fluorescent lamp control signal. If it is determined that the inputted signal is a fluorescent lamp control signal, an operation command is applied to the buzzer 107 to generate a buzzing sound, and at the same time, an operation command is applied to the fluorescent lamp control circuit 102 to turn on or off the brightness adjustable illumination lamp 30 and control the sleep reservation of the brightness adjustable illumination lamp 30. [37] If it is determined that the inputted signal is not a fluorescent lamp control signal, the microcomputer 109 determines again whether the inputted signal is an LED control signal. If it is determined that the inputted signal is an LED control signal, an operation command is applied to the buzzer 107 as described above to generate a buzzing sound, and an operation command is applied to the LED circuit 106 to control the brightness and the sleep time of the LEDs 52.

[38] Hereinafter, the working effects of the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, which is constructed and operates as mentioned above, will be described.

[39] The illuminator having the air purifying function is installed on the ceiling in a house, an office, a warehouse, etc. The illuminator can perform an illumination function for lighting the darkness when a switch is turned on as well as the air puri fying function for sucking and filtering pollutants such as indoor floating dust or the like using the suction fan installed in the illuminator and discharging clean air into an indoor space.

[40] Describing in detail, if a current is applied to the apparatus through rurning-on of a switch, the motor 40 is driven and the fan 60 is rotated to suck indoor air. Then, the sucked indoor air containing pollutants flows through the opening 74 which is defined through the lower end of the filter case 50, and then passes through the multi- stepwise filtering unit 72 which is disposed in the filter case 50, whereby indoor floating dust, various foreign substances, harmful bacteria, etc. are filtered.

[41] The filtered clean air flows toward the center portion of the fan 60 and then is discharged radially outward of the impeller of the fan 60. The discharged clean air contains anions which are generated by the anion generator 80 arranged between the lower end of the fan 60 and the filtering unit 72. Due to this fact, it is possible to provide pleasant indoor circumstances and contribute to the promotion of human health.

[42] Due to the fact that the filter case 70 is divided into the lower case and the upper case, since the filtering unit 72 of the air cleaner can be simply removed from the filter case 70, cleaning and replacement of the filtering unit 72 can be easily conducted to ensure clean and sanitary use of the filtering unit 72.

[43] Specifically, in the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, due to the fact that the air cleaner is installed on the ceiling together with the illuminator, as can be readily seen from FIG. 5, since convection flow of air can be effectively utilized, air purification effect can be maximized, and anions having a specific gravity greater than that of air can be uniformly distributed everywhere in the indoor space.

[44] Furthermore, because an air film A is created by the discharged clean air containing anions at the upper part of the indoor space, it is possible to prevent the indoor floating dust from being raised toward cornered dead zone of the indoor space. Industrial Applicability

[45] As is apparent from the above description, the indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow according to the present invention provides advantages in that, since an air cleaner having an anion generator is installed together with an illuminator, both illumination function and air purification function can be rendered, and space utilization efficiency is improved when compared to the installation pattern of the conventional air cleaners.

[46] Specifically, due to the common installation of the air cleaner and the illuminator on the ceiling, convection flow of air can be positively utilized so as to maximize air purification effect, and anions can be uniformly distributed everywhere in an indoor space. As a result, pleasant living or working circumstances can be provided to contribute to the health of a user.

[47] In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

Claims

[1] An indoor floating dust collecting apparatus using convection flow, including a bracket (10) fixed to a ceiling, an indoor floating dust collector centrally installed on the bracket (10), and at least one brightness adjustable illumination lamp (30) placed around the indoor floating dust collector, so that brightness of an indoor space can be adjusted and indoor floating dust can be collected and filtered, the indoor floating dust collector comprising: a driving motor (40) installed in a motor housing (12) which is mounted to a center portion of the bracket (10); a fan housing (50) secured in a recess (22) which is defined over a predetermined area on a center portion of an illuminator cover (20); a fan (60) installed in the fan housing (50) and coupled to a distal end of a rotation shaft of the driving motor (40) to be rotated thereby; a filter case (70) fastened to a lower end of the fan housing (50), having disposed therein a filtering unit (72), and defined with a grille-patterned opening (74) on a lower end thereof to allow polluted indoor air to be introduced therein through the opening (74), a side wall (75) of the filter case (70) for defining the opening (74) being inclined so that indoor air can be smoothly introduced into the filter case (70); an anion generator (80) arranged between a lower end of the fan (60) and the filter case (70); and a controller for supplying power and controlling operations of the respective component parts.

[2] The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein an inner wall (52) of the fan housing (50) is inclined to be flared outward such that, when purified air is discharged to the outside, the discharged clean air can form an outwardly flared air film which defines a predetermined angle with respect to a vertical line.

[3] The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein, in order to ensure easy replacement of the filtering unit (72) disposed in the filter case (70), the filter case (70) is divided into a lower case which defines the opening (74) and an upper case which is fastened to the fan housing (50).

[4] The apparatus as set forth in claims 1 or 3, wherein a wing member (90) of which both ends are bent downward is installed on the lower end of the filter case (70) through which the opening (74) is defined, such that introduction of polluted indoor air into the filter case (70) and collection of noxious dust contained in air can be reliably implemented.

[5] The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the controller comprises: a power supply circuit (101) for receiving source power, transducing source power into a voltage needed in a system and supplying the voltage to the respective component parts; a fluorescent lamp control circuit (102) for turning on and off a ballast (32) of the brightness adjustable illumination lamp (30) and for adjusting brightness of the brightness adjustable illumination lamp (30) under the control from the outside; a motor control circuit (103) for turning on and off the driving motor (40) and for adjusting a rotational speed of the driving motor (40) under the control from the outside; a high voltage generation circuit (104) for supplying a high voltage to the anion generator (80) under the control from the outside; a key input circuit (105) for inputting a user's instruction signal through manipulation of various input keys; an LED circuit (106) for turning on a plurality of LEDs to notify operation of the system to the outside and for controlling a current applied to each LED to adjust brightness thereof, under the control from the outside; a buzzer (107) for generating a buzzing sound upon operation of the respective component parts, under the control from the outside; a remote control signal receiving circuit (108) for receiving the user's instruction signal through a remote controller; and a microcomputer (109) for controlling operations of the respective component parts, for outputting a control signal to the fluorescent lamp control circuit (102) in response to the user's instruction signal inputted from the key input circuit (105) or the remote control signal receiving circuit (108) and thereby turning on or off and adjusting brightness of the brightness adjustable illumination lamp (30), for outputting control signals to the motor control circuit (103) and the high voltage generation circuit (104) and thereby turning on or off and adjusting the rotational speed of the driving motor (40) and generating anions through the anion generator (80), for outputting a control signal to the LED circuit (106) and thereby displaying an operational status of the respective component parts and adjusting brightness of the LEDs, and for controlling the buzzer (107) upon operation of the respective component parts and thereby generating the buzzing sound.