US-20260126194-A1 - AIR PROCESSING UNITS FOR VENTILATION SYSTEMS

US20260126194A1US 20260126194 A1US20260126194 A1US 20260126194A1US-20260126194-A1

Abstract

An air ventilation system for an indoor space includes an air processing unit that includes a housing that receives air from the indoor space and discharges treated air, a microbial deactivation channel provided within the housing and defining a serpentine pathway that causes the air to navigate one or more directional changes as it circulates through the housing, and one or more ultraviolet (UV) light sources arranged within the microbial deactivation channel to emit UV light that impinges on and disinfects the air. One or more light reflection features are provided on one or more interior surfaces of the microbial deactivation channel, the one or more light reflection features comprising flat, mirror-like structures that receive and redirect the UV light within the microbial deactivation channel.

Inventors

James Edwin Dally

Assignees

James Edwin Dally

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241101

Claims (20)

1 . An air ventilation system for an indoor space, comprising: an air processing unit (APU) that includes: a housing that receives air from the indoor space and discharges treated air; a microbial deactivation channel provided within the housing and defining a serpentine pathway that causes the air to navigate one or more directional changes as it circulates through the housing; one or more ultraviolet (UV) light sources arranged within the microbial deactivation channel to emit UV light that impinges on and disinfects the air; and one or more light reflection features provided on one or more interior surfaces of the microbial deactivation channel, the one or more light reflection features comprising flat, mirror-like structures that receive and redirect the UV light within the microbial deactivation channel.
2 . The air ventilation system of claim 1 , wherein the indoor space is selected from the group consisting of a multi-passenger vehicle, an interior room or section of a building, an elevator carriage, a store check-out aisle, security checkpoints or check-ins, a greenhouse facility, a vegetation grow room or facility, and any combination thereof.
3 . The air ventilation system of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a microbial deactivation portion that houses the microbial deactivation channel, and wherein the housing further comprises an HVAC portion in fluid communication with the sterilization portion.
4 . The air ventilation system of claim 3 , wherein the HVAC and sterilization portions are operatively coupled at a seam and thereby cooperatively form integral portions of the housing.
5 . The air ventilation system of claim 3 , further comprising: an input provided on the HVAC portion to receive the air from the indoor space; and an output provided on the to discharge the treated air from the APU, wherein the air is conveyed from the HVAC portion to the microbial deactivation portion.
6 . The air ventilation system of claim 3 , wherein the HVAC portion provides an HVAC passageway that houses one or more of: one or more fans operable to draw the air into the HVAC passageway; one or more filters operable to filter the air; a heater operable to increase a temperature of the air; and a cooler operable to decrease the temperature of the air.
7 . The air ventilation system of claim 1 , wherein the microbial deactivation channel is defined by one or more sidewalls contiguously connected to one or more curved endwalls.
8 . The air ventilation system of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the one or more UV light sources is arranged at an apex of a corresponding one of the one or more curved endwalls.
9 . The air ventilation system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more UV light sources comprises a UV-C light source configured to emit germicidal far UV-C light.
10 . The air ventilation system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more UV light sources comprises an elongate bulb that exhibits a length L 1 slightly shorter than a height of the microbial deactivation channel.
11 . The air ventilation system of claim 10 , wherein the housing includes a top panel detachable from the housing to expose the microbial deactivation channel, and wherein the one or more UV light sources are installed and removed lengthwise into/from the microbial deactivation channel with the top panel detached.
12 . The air ventilation system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more light reflection features are formed directly on the one or more interior surfaces of the microbial deactivation channel.
13 . The air ventilation system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more light reflection features comprise separate structures operatively coupled to the one or more interior surfaces of the microbial deactivation channel.
14 . A method for ventilating an indoor space, comprising: conveying air from the indoor space to an air processing unit (APU) that includes: a housing; a microbial deactivation channel provided within the housing and defining a serpentine pathway; one or more ultraviolet (UV) light sources arranged within the microbial deactivation channel; and one or more light reflection features provided on one or more interior surfaces of the microbial deactivation channel and comprising flat, mirror-like structures; circulating the air through the microbial deactivation channel and thereby causing the air to navigate one or more directional changes within the housing; emitting UV light from the one or more UV light sources; receiving and redirecting the UV light within the microbial deactivation channel with the one or more light reflection features; and impinging the UV light on the air and thereby disinfecting the air.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the housing comprises a microbial deactivation portion that houses the microbial deactivation channel, the housing further comprising an HVAC portion in fluid communication with the microbial deactivation portion, the method further comprising at least one of: drawing the air into the HVAC passageway with one or more fans arranged in the HVAC passageway; filtering the air with one or more filters arranged in the HVAC passageway; increasing a temperature of the air with a heater arranged in the HVAC passageway; and decreasing the temperature of the air with a cooler arranged in the HVAC passageway.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the microbial deactivation channel is defined by one or more sidewalls contiguously connected to one or more curved endwalls, the method further comprising arranging at least one of the one or more UV light sources at an apex of a corresponding one of the one or more curved endwalls.
17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the one or more UV light sources comprises a UV-C light source, and wherein emitting UV light from the one or more UV light sources comprises emitting germicidal far UV-C light.
18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein at least one of the one or more UV light sources comprises an elongate bulb that exhibits a length L 1 slightly shorter than a height of the microbial deactivation channel, the method further comprising: installing the elongate bulb lengthwise into the housing; and removing the elongate bulb lengthwise from the housing.
19 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the one or more light reflection features are formed directly on the one or more interior surfaces of the microbial deactivation channel.
20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the one or more light reflection features comprise separate structures operatively coupled to the one or more interior surfaces of the microbial deactivation channel.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates generally to air ventilation systems, and more particularly, to air processing units that condition and sterilize air flowing through the ventilation system. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE People spend a significant amount of their lives indoors, such as within buildings, mass transportation vehicles, etc., collectively referred to herein as “indoor spaces”. Poor air quality in indoor spaces can cause adverse health effects on the occupants, including sick building syndrome (SBS), allergic rhinitis, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Studies have shown that exposure to pollutants such as carbon dioxide, for example, is linked to significant decrements to decision-making, and air quality directly impacts the health and the productivity of a building's occupants and constitutes a health hazard. Indeed, the World Health Organization estimates that 12.7% of deaths could be avoided by improving the indoor environment and ambient air quality around the world. Moreover, following the recent Covid-19 pandemic, improving air quality and ventilation in indoor spaces has become a subject of increased importance, and this has spurred much innovation in the field of air processing and conditioning. It is increasingly desirable to find and implement improved systems and methods of not only filtering and conditioning air flow through indoor spaces, but also sterilizing the air to thereby eliminate microorganisms and pathogens related to Covid-19 or other airborne viruses. Accordingly, needs remain for improved ventilation systems and air processing units that effectively condition and sterilize air circulated through indoor spaces. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more examples of embodiments and, together with the description of example embodiments, serve to explain the principles and implementations of the embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example air ventilation system, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the APU of FIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a top view of the APU of FIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying Figures. Like elements in the various figures may be denoted by like reference numerals for consistency. Further, in the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the description. Additionally, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the scale of the elements presented in the accompanying Figures may vary without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein are directed to air ventilation systems for indoor spaces and, more particularly, to air processing units used in air ventilation systems and designed to condition and sterilize air circulating within or through indoor spaces. One example air ventilation system for an indoor space includes an air processing unit that includes a housing that receives air from the indoor space and discharges conditioned air, a microbial deactivation channel provided within the housing and defining a serpentine pathway that causes the air to navigate one or more directional changes as it circulates through the housing, and one or more ultraviolet (UV) light sources arranged within the microbial deactivation channel to emit UV light that impinges on and disinfects the air. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, one or more light reflection features may be provided on one or more interior surfaces of the microbial deactivation channel. The light reflection features may comprise flat, mirror-like structures that receive and redirect the UV light within the microbial deactivation channel. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example air ventilation system 100, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the air ventilation system 100 includes an air processing unit or “APU” 102 that can be fed a supply of air 104 from an indoor space 106. The indoor space 106 may comprise any enclosed or semi-enclosed area that can be occupied by one or more occupants (persons, passengers, tenants, inhabitants, etc.) and through which air is continuously, periodically, or intermittently circulated. Examples of the indoor space 106 include, but are not limited to,