| WO2002030708A2 | 2002-04-18 |
| US6277176B1 | 2001-08-21 | |||
| US20040163542A1 | 2004-08-26 | |||
| US5968214A | 1999-10-19 |
DATABASE WPI Week 199205, Derwent World Patents Index; Class Q12, AN 1992-039941
DATABASE WPI Week 197534, Derwent World Patents Index; Class Q12, AN 1975-J5814W
DATABASE WPI Week 198042, Derwent World Patents Index; Class Q15, AN 1980-J9915C
| CLAIMS The claims defining the invention arc as follows:
1. An air cleaning apparatus, either electrical, mechanical or electro-mechanical, affixed to or integrated into a motor vehicle or other conveyance, into which apparatus polluted air enters when the vehicle is in motion or is drawn in by electrically powered air suction devices of the known kind when the vehicle is at rest, and which removes pollutants by way of a filter or plurality of filters or filter cartridges and from which cleaner air ia emitted into the environment, such filters capable of being cleaned in situ or replaced when necessary.
2. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in 1 where the filters are manifested as a plurality of blades or vanes of sufficient fineness to catch particulate pollution, each blade or vane being joined at either end to a circular wheel-like end piece linked to the other circular wheel-like end piece by an axle which rotates the filter blades or vanes when the vehicle is in motion and rotated by the force of air created when the vehicle moves, so that the rotating blades or vanes catch particulate pollution, and that a plurality of such rotating; filter blade devices is arranged horizontally seriatim within a housing of aerodynamically efficient design which permits air to enter, but not rain or other weather, so that the polluted air passes through a sequence of such rotating blade or vane devices, such blades or vanes being capable of replacement when clogged with pollution or damaged and also capable of being cleaned in situ,
3. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in claims 1 or 2 where the circular wheel like end pieces of the sequence of rotating filter blade or vane devices are intermeshed by way of interlocking teeth around the perimeter of each wheel, so that each subsequent blade device rotates in the opposite direction to those before and after it.
4. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in claims 1 , 2 or 3 which also utilizes solvents and other chemicals or organic compounds capable of dissolving and transforming polluting gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides, such mat the filters and rotating filter blade devices described are impregnated with the said solvents, chemicals or organic compounds so as to react upon impacting the gases, a reservoir of said solvents, chemicals or organic compounds located within the housing containing the filters capable of releasing further such material onto the filter as required to react with the gases and to clean the filters.
5. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which a zigzag sequence of baffles and filters are arranged within a housing which allows air to enter through the front aperture or apertures and channels the air through the zigzag sequence of baffles and filters whereby air flowing through the apparatus is progressively cleaned of pollution.
6. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 5 which also utilizes solvents and other chemicals or organic compounds, minerals or crystals impregnated in the filters to dissolve and transform polluting gases.
7, An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in claims 1- 6 where chlorophyll is utilised to transform carbon dioxide to oxygen and carbon.
8. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 where the apparatus is located at the front of the vehicle, whether behind the grille, within or outside the vehicle , arranged vertically and as to size, configuration and alignment so as to allow air to enter the apparatus through the front face of the apparatus rather than through the front aperture of the horizontally aligned apparatus .
9. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1, 2 or 3 where the filter blades or vanes are arranged concentrically around a vertical rotating shaft within a spherical housing.
10. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 where the apparatus is located underneath or at the rear of the vehicle which allows it to efficiently access and clean exhaust fumes,
11. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 which is located on the outside body of the vehicle, on the roof, bonnet, boot, front, back, side or underneath the vehicle, said apparatus being capable of being made larger or smaller corresponding tot he location and available space, in the case of a roof top variation being up to the size of the whole roof space, with a correspondingly large number of rotating filter devices
12. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1-1 Iwhere the operation and interaction of pollutant removing factors including filters and solvents is coordinated by electronic control devices.
13. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1-12 which include solar cells for power generation.
14. An air cleaning apparatus which cleans air and solutions of pollution extracted from air by means of operation of a diaphragm, osmotic and other organic procedures.
15. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any 1-12 above which also cleans air by way of ionization, by way of ionizing devices incorporated into the apparatus which ionize the air within the apparatus prior to emission.
16. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any 1-15 above which also cools air by way of incorporating air cooling technology of the known kind into the apparatus so as to cool (the air within the apparatus prior to expelling cooled air into the atmosphere.
17. An air cooling apparatus which expels a proportion of cooled air back into the environment rather than all into the vehicle.
18. An air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2 or 3 above which generates electrical power by the impact of air flow on the filter blade or vanes causing rotation of the sequence of filter blade or vane devices connected drivingly to a mini generator or generators, converting the energy of the air flowing into the device as the vehicle moves into electrical energy for use and distribution within the vehicle by electronic control devices and computers.
19. One or more air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1-18 above combining all or any of the said claims.
20. One or more air cleaning apparatus as claimed in any 1-16 above adapted for use in or upon buses, trucks, trains, trams, boats, planes and other forms of transport. |
AN AIR CLEANING MOTOR VEHICLE
TECHNICAL HELD
In general the present invention relates to an air cleaning and, optionally, air cooling apparatus, or combination of apparati, attached to or embodied in a motor vehicle or other form of conveyance, whether by land, sea or air, such that the said apparatus effects a degree of cleaning of the atmospheric air by removing pollution from the air and emitting said cleaned air back into the atmosphere so as to effect a net improvement in the quality of air and a lessening of air pollution.
Moreover the apparati are for cleaning exhaust fumes from cars and other conveyances.
BACKGROUND ART
Apparatus, either electrical, mechanical or electro-mechanical, exist for cleaning and cooling air for use inside buildings, motor vehicles, and other forms of conveyance, but the object of this invention is rather for electrical, mechanical or electro-mechanical air cleaning and , optionally, cooling apparati to emit cleaned and, optionally, cooled air back into the environment in order to play a role in reducing air pollution. It is envisaged that, in some embodiments, existing forms of air cleaning and cooling technologies, or combinations of such technologies, will be incorporated into the claimed apparatus and adapted to the said purposes of cleaning and cooling environmental air for example when the vehicle is at rest and cannot utilize air flows created by its own motion the known forms of electrical air cleaning devices will come into play, for this novel and necessary purpose.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
This invention describes apparatus affixed to or embodied in motor vehicles or other forms of conveyance for the purpose of cleaning environmental air by removing a proportion of polluting matter from the air and returning cleaner air to the environment, as well as optionally cooling air and returning cooled air to the environment, so that motor vehicles clean the air as they drive around and can cool it. Such apparatus are suitably located within housing that can be affixed to the vehicle, whether by welding or mechanical fixation, or embodied into the vehicle design by way of purpose moulded aerodynamic and aesthetic compartments in and on the vehicle, whether on the roof, or at the front of the vehicle, on the bonnet or boot, at the rear of or on the underside of the vehicle, allowing air to enter but keeping rain out or being closeable in rain. The cleaned and/or cooled air can also be distributed inside the vehicle in the usual way if desired; and
conversely the known and existing air cleaning and cooling technologies can be adapted so that part of the emitted air is directed outside the vehicle to ameliorate the environment.
One object is for there to be a range of such apparati, of greater or lesser complexity and corresponding price, such that there may be basic models removing particles by way of filters through to more elaborate models that also treat gases more completely, but that overall air cleaning technology can become standard and achievable for all motor vehicles.
In one embodiment of the invention the motion of the vehicle creates air flow which is channeled into the apparatus through one or more apertures and the air impacts a series of filters so that pollution particles in the said air are captured by the filters.
In one embodiment of the apparatus a plurality of filter blade or vane devices located within a housing unit rotate and catch particles of particulate pollution.
In one embodiment of the invention solvents, chemicals, organic compounds, minerals such a s zyolite or crystals impregnated in the filter blades or vanes interact with and treat the pollution gases, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide, effecting some removal of the noxious gases from the atmosphere or an amelioration of their nature so as make them less harmful to the environment and accumulating residues of the said processes. In one embodiment reservoirs of such solvents, chemicals and compounds interact with the filter devices and dissolve the gases as the polluted air flows through the apparatus.
In one embodiment of the invention the apparatus also generate electricity by way of harnessing the energy of rotating filter blade or vane devices turned like turbines by the force of air flow created by the motion of the vehicle and converting it to electric power by connection to a generator, said electric power being distributed by computers and other electronic control devices and utilised for the purposes of the vehicle.
In one embodiment ionizing technology is utilised within the apparatus to ionize the cleaned air prior to emission.
In one embodiment solar cells are incorporated into the apparatus to augment alternative power supply to the apparatus and vehicle, such being distributed by means of computers and electronic control devices.
In one embodiment the above systems and apparatus are all combined.
The net effects of the invention are that the motor vehicle and other means of conveyance become air cleaning agents and in one embodiment also air cooling agents, rather than only air polluting and air heating agents, and the environmental air is cleaner and cooler thereby.
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