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WO2020201696A1 - Vehicle air treatment device - Google Patents

Vehicle air treatment device Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2020201696A1
WO2020201696A1 PCT/GB2020/050676 GB2020050676W WO2020201696A1 WO 2020201696 A1 WO2020201696 A1 WO 2020201696A1 GB 2020050676 W GB2020050676 W GB 2020050676W WO 2020201696 A1 WO2020201696 A1 WO 2020201696A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
air
vehicle
leds
treatment zone
air treatment
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/GB2020/050676
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
John James
James Love
John MAUDSLEY
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
MedImmune Ltd
Original Assignee
MedImmune Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GBGB1904578.0A external-priority patent/GB201904578D0/en
Priority claimed from GBGB1908858.2A external-priority patent/GB201908858D0/en
Application filed by MedImmune Ltd filed Critical MedImmune Ltd
Publication of WO2020201696A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020201696A1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
    • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
    • B60H3/0085—Smell or pollution preventing arrangements
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60H—ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
    • B60H3/00—Other air-treating devices
    • B60H3/0071—Electrically conditioning the air, e.g. by ionizing
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F3/00—Air-conditioning systems in which conditioned primary air is supplied from one or more central stations to distributing units in the rooms or spaces where it may receive secondary treatment; Apparatus specially designed for such systems
    • F24F3/044—Systems in which all treatment is given in the central station, i.e. all-air systems
    • F24F3/056—Systems in which all treatment is given in the central station, i.e. all-air systems the air at least partially flowing over lighting fixtures, the heat of which is dissipated or used 
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F8/00—Treatment, e.g. purification, of air supplied to human living or working spaces otherwise than by heating, cooling, humidifying or drying
    • F24F8/20—Treatment, e.g. purification, of air supplied to human living or working spaces otherwise than by heating, cooling, humidifying or drying by sterilisation
    • F24F8/22—Treatment, e.g. purification, of air supplied to human living or working spaces otherwise than by heating, cooling, humidifying or drying by sterilisation using UV light
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24F—AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING
    • F24F8/00—Treatment, e.g. purification, of air supplied to human living or working spaces otherwise than by heating, cooling, humidifying or drying
    • F24F8/10—Treatment, e.g. purification, of air supplied to human living or working spaces otherwise than by heating, cooling, humidifying or drying by separation, e.g. by filtering
    • F24F8/192—Treatment, e.g. purification, of air supplied to human living or working spaces otherwise than by heating, cooling, humidifying or drying by separation, e.g. by filtering by electrical means, e.g. by applying electrostatic fields or high voltages
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A—TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A50/00—TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE in human health protection, e.g. against extreme weather
    • Y02A50/20—Air quality improvement or preservation, e.g. vehicle emission control or emission reduction by using catalytic converters

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an air treatment device for treating the air entering, leaving or within a vehicle.
  • MRSA methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus
  • TB Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • W02008/120005 describes a protective device utilising a face mask and an ultraviolet source. Whilst these are useful for patients or medical professionals, they require the device to be fitted to the individual.
  • Air passing out of a vehicle where the vehicle contains for example a patient with a suspected infectious disease, means that it is often difficult to contain the disease or requires the subject to be placed within a separate bubble tent within the vehicle. Additionally, there may be a desire to treat air coming into or from within the vehicle to protect passengers within the vehicle from infection.
  • U.V. LEDs There are a number of different sources of ultraviolet light available.
  • U.V. LEDs the major problem with existing ultraviolet light sources, such as U.V. LEDs, is that they produce a lot of heat.
  • U.V.c light LEDs are relatively inefficient. Only 2% of input energy is converted into U.V.c.. Accordingly, for 2 watts of U.V.c., 98 watts of heat is needed to be dissipated. This produces a problem in the ability to cool devices.
  • a first aspect of the invention provides a vehicle air treatment device, comprising : (i) An air treatment zone comprising a wall defining the air treatment zone and an air inlet and air outlet;
  • a plurality of ultraviolet light emitting diodes mounted on or adjacent to the wall and arranged to treat air passing through the air treatment zone with U.V. light;
  • a cooling zone comprising a fluid for cooling the U.V. LEDs.
  • the LED is a U.V.c LED that emits U.V.c. light.
  • U.V.c. is typically in the region of 200-800 nanometers.
  • the U.V. is used to inactivate microorganisms in the air passing through the air treatment zone. That is, the microorganisms may be disabled to prevent the microorganism infecting a person. Alternatively, the microorganism may be killed.
  • the term "disabled” includes reduction of pathogenicity and/or the ability to replicate.
  • the microorganism may include viruses, bacteria, algae, protozoa, fungi, mycobacterium and spores thereof. Where the virus is treated with the U.V., it may form a so-called DI virus. DI viruses are no longer capable of producing an infectious disease, but still remain a level of immunogenicity which allows an immune response to be produced against the virus.
  • the device may be arranged so that air passing from the vehicle interior passes through the air inlet into the air treatment zone, and out of the air outlet to the exterior of the vehicle. That is, it prevents the release of infectious pathogens into the environment.
  • air from the exterior or interior of the vehicle may be passed through the air inlet into the air treatment zone and out of the air outlet into the interior of the vehicle. This can be used to protect the passengers within a vehicle from pathogens from outside of the vehicle, or indeed alternatively to treat the air within the vehicle to prevent transmission of diseases from one passengers to another within the vehicle.
  • Air from the air outlet may pass through the cooling zone to cool the U.V. LEDs.
  • a separate coolant fluid may be provided to cool the U.V. LEDs and the coolant is a liquid or gas that has not been passed through the air treatment zone.
  • air may be drawn from the outside of the vehicle through a vehicle air inlet into the cooling zone and then expelled from the cooling zone into the exterior of the vehicle.
  • a cooling liquid such as water, may alternatively be passed through an inlet of the cooling zone into the cooling zone and pass out of the cooling zone.
  • the fluid from the cooling zone may be passed through a heat exchanger to heat air passing into the vehicle, but not released directly into the air passing into the vehicle. It therefore recovers some heat of the U.V. light sources and is used to heat the vehicle.
  • the cooling zone is typically provided with a wall defining the cooling zone with an inlet and outlet for the fluid and may be provided, for example, as an annular chamber around the exterior of the air treatment zone, or alternatively simply provided around an exterior part of the air treatment zone where the light emitting diodes have been provided.
  • U.V. LEDs may be mounted on the wall of the air treatment zone where the U.V. LEDs are mounted.
  • U.V. LEDs may also be each mounted at a respective aperture in the wall of the air treatment zone, optionally where the aperture comprises a substantially U.V. transparent window to allow U.V. from the U.V. LEDs into an interior of the treatment zone, where air can be treated with the U.V.
  • the wall of the air treatment zone may be substantially transparent to the U.V.
  • U.V. LEDs may comprise one or more heat sinks to increase the surface area of the LEDs to be cooled.
  • the interior wall of the air treatment zone may comprise a U.V. reflective layer on at least a portion of the wall facing the interior of the air treatment zone. This increases the effect of the U.V. from the U.V. LEDs, by reflecting the U.V. back into the interior of the air treatment zone.
  • Such reflective surfaces include a polytetrafluoroethylene such as EPTFE.
  • the device may be provided with a filter, such as a pollen filter, in order to remove particulates, such as pollen, prior to passage of the air through the air treatment zone.
  • a filter such as a pollen filter
  • This has the additional advantage that it helps to prevent the build-up of dust on the surface of, for example, the reflective surface of the wall of the air treatment zone, or the U.V. LEDs.
  • the device does not comprise a photocatalyst such as titanium dioxide.
  • the air from the air treatment zone may be passed to one or more vents into the interior of the vehicle.
  • each vent may have its own air treatment device.
  • the typical maximum volume of air entering is less than 170 litres/second with approximately 30 litres/second at each vent.
  • the vehicle may be a space, land, air, or water vehicle.
  • Such vehicle may be selected from, for example, an automobile, a bus, a lorry, a van, a train, a tram, a cable car, an aeroplane, a ship and a spacecraft.
  • the vehicles are able to transport passengers and may comprise a compartment for a driver.
  • the U.V. LEDs are typically U.V.c. LEDs, which emit ultraviolet light at the U.V.c. wavelength.
  • U.V. LEDs are generally known in the art.
  • the device may comprise a regulator to regulate the amount of U.V. light emitted by the U.V. LEDs into the air treatment zone. This may be in the form of a simple on/off switch or alternatively a control to regulate the amount of U.V. light emitted.
  • the amount of U.V. light used to treat the air may vary depending on the flow of air through the system.
  • the amount of U.V. may be varied depending upon the amount of air passing through the air treatment zone.
  • a vehicle comprising a device according to the invention is also provided, wherein the vehicle is preferably defined as above.
  • Figure 1 shows an arrangement according to one aspect of the invention in which air is treating with ultraviolet light, prior to being used to cool the LEDs.
  • Figure 2 shows an alternative arrangement of the invention, in which a separate cooling system is provided.
  • Figure 3 shows an alternative arrangement of the LED light mounted on the wall of the device.
  • air is taken in through an intake (11) into the air treatment zone (12).
  • the air may be from the outside of the vehicle, in which case the device is used to pre-treat the air prior to entering into the vehicle, or alternatively it is from within the vehicle, and may be used to treat air leaving the vehicle.
  • air is passed through a tube.
  • One end of the tube then passes into an air treatment zone (12) before leaving the air treatment zone at an air outlet (13).
  • the treated air then passes into a cooling zone (14) where it passes LEDs (16) and cools excess heat from the LEDs, prior to exiting the device.
  • the internals walls of the air treatment zone may be covered with a reflective lining such as EPTFE. This increases the amount of U.V. light transmitted into the interior of the air treatment zone and increases the efficiency.
  • U.V.s may be mounted on the wall of the air treatment zone (12).
  • a wall (20) of the cooling zone (14) may comprise a non reflective or absorbent material such as a U.V. absorbent paint, in order to prevent escape of U.V. light from the air treatment zone (12).
  • Figure 1 illustratively shows the U.V.c. emitted by one of the LEDs (22) into the air treatment zone (12).
  • FIG 2 shows an alternative arrangement in which there is provided an air inlet (11) to an air treatment zone (12), which also has an air outlet (13).
  • the cooling zone (14) has a separate fluid inlet (15) and outlet (17).
  • Fluid which may be a coolant liquid such as water, optionally with additives such as antifreeze or alternatively a gas, such as air or a refrigerant, may pass in the same direction as, or indeed in a counter direction to, the air flowing through the coolant chamber (12).
  • the air treatment zone may have a substantially circular cross section, with the air treatment zone providing an annular cooling zone around the air treatment zone (12).
  • the U.V. LED (16) is mounted on the wall of the air treatment zone (12).
  • the wall itself may act as a heat sink, with it being cooled by fluid passing through the cooling zone (14).
  • Figure 3 shows an alternative arrangement of the LED.
  • a wall (24) which separates the air treatment zone (12) from the cooling zone (14).
  • the LED (16) is mounted adjacent to a transparent window (26). This allows the transmission of U.V. light into the air treatment chamber (12).
  • a transparent window there may simply be an aperture within the wall (24) and the LED is air sealed to the aperture by means of a suitable seal.
  • the amount of U.V. may be variable according to the amount of air passing through the air treatment zone. This may be varied, for example, by switching one or more LEDs on or off, or increasing the output from one or more of the LEDs. Accordingly, a control circuit may be provided.
  • the walls of the device may comprise any suitable material including metal and plastic materials.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Atmospheric Sciences (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Disinfection, Sterilisation Or Deodorisation Of Air (AREA)

Abstract

A vehicle air treatment device comprising: (i) An air treatment zone comprising a wall defining the air treatment zone and an air inlet and air outlet; (ii) A plurality of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (U.V. LEDs) mounted on or adjacent to the wall and arranged to treat air passing through the air treatment zone with U.V. light; and (iii) A cooling zone comprising a fluid for cooling the U.V. LEDs, optionally wherein the LEDs are U.V.c LEDs.

Description

Vehicle Air Treatment Device
The invention relates to an air treatment device for treating the air entering, leaving or within a vehicle.
People are frequently at risk of being infected by airborne pathogens. These include common cold virus, such as rhinoviruses and influenza virus. Additionally there are a number of bacterial pathogens such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). There are a number of current methods for preventing infections, including vaccination, the wearing of personal protective equipment, such as face masks, and the disinfection of surfaces.
There are drawbacks associated with vaccinating populations, such as variations in the pathogen and the inability to vaccination, for example, immune-suppressed individuals.
Current personal protective equipment includes face masks, such as those containing filters.
W02008/120005 describes a protective device utilising a face mask and an ultraviolet source. Whilst these are useful for patients or medical professionals, they require the device to be fitted to the individual.
The Applicant has now realised that it would be useful to be able to treat the air passing in or out of a vehicle or into a vehicle. Air passing out of a vehicle, where the vehicle contains for example a patient with a suspected infectious disease, means that it is often difficult to contain the disease or requires the subject to be placed within a separate bubble tent within the vehicle. Additionally, there may be a desire to treat air coming into or from within the vehicle to protect passengers within the vehicle from infection.
There are a number of different sources of ultraviolet light available. However, the major problem with existing ultraviolet light sources, such as U.V. LEDs, is that they produce a lot of heat. For example, U.V.c light LEDs are relatively inefficient. Only 2% of input energy is converted into U.V.c.. Accordingly, for 2 watts of U.V.c., 98 watts of heat is needed to be dissipated. This produces a problem in the ability to cool devices.
Accordingly, a first aspect of the invention provides a vehicle air treatment device, comprising : (i) An air treatment zone comprising a wall defining the air treatment zone and an air inlet and air outlet;
(ii) A plurality of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (U.V. LEDs) mounted on or adjacent to the wall and arranged to treat air passing through the air treatment zone with U.V. light; and
(iii) A cooling zone comprising a fluid for cooling the U.V. LEDs.
Typically, the LED is a U.V.c LED that emits U.V.c. light. U.V.c. is typically in the region of 200-800 nanometers.
The U.V. is used to inactivate microorganisms in the air passing through the air treatment zone. That is, the microorganisms may be disabled to prevent the microorganism infecting a person. Alternatively, the microorganism may be killed. The term "disabled" includes reduction of pathogenicity and/or the ability to replicate. The microorganism may include viruses, bacteria, algae, protozoa, fungi, mycobacterium and spores thereof. Where the virus is treated with the U.V., it may form a so-called DI virus. DI viruses are no longer capable of producing an infectious disease, but still remain a level of immunogenicity which allows an immune response to be produced against the virus.
The device may be arranged so that air passing from the vehicle interior passes through the air inlet into the air treatment zone, and out of the air outlet to the exterior of the vehicle. That is, it prevents the release of infectious pathogens into the environment. Alternatively, air from the exterior or interior of the vehicle may be passed through the air inlet into the air treatment zone and out of the air outlet into the interior of the vehicle. This can be used to protect the passengers within a vehicle from pathogens from outside of the vehicle, or indeed alternatively to treat the air within the vehicle to prevent transmission of diseases from one passengers to another within the vehicle.
Air from the air outlet may pass through the cooling zone to cool the U.V. LEDs.
Alternatively, a separate coolant fluid may be provided to cool the U.V. LEDs and the coolant is a liquid or gas that has not been passed through the air treatment zone. For example, air may be drawn from the outside of the vehicle through a vehicle air inlet into the cooling zone and then expelled from the cooling zone into the exterior of the vehicle. A cooling liquid, such as water, may alternatively be passed through an inlet of the cooling zone into the cooling zone and pass out of the cooling zone. The fluid from the cooling zone may be passed through a heat exchanger to heat air passing into the vehicle, but not released directly into the air passing into the vehicle. It therefore recovers some heat of the U.V. light sources and is used to heat the vehicle.
The cooling zone is typically provided with a wall defining the cooling zone with an inlet and outlet for the fluid and may be provided, for example, as an annular chamber around the exterior of the air treatment zone, or alternatively simply provided around an exterior part of the air treatment zone where the light emitting diodes have been provided.
U.V. LEDs may be mounted on the wall of the air treatment zone where the U.V. LEDs are mounted.
U.V. LEDs may also be each mounted at a respective aperture in the wall of the air treatment zone, optionally where the aperture comprises a substantially U.V. transparent window to allow U.V. from the U.V. LEDs into an interior of the treatment zone, where air can be treated with the U.V. Alternatively, at least a portion of the wall of the air treatment zone may be substantially transparent to the U.V.
U.V. LEDs may comprise one or more heat sinks to increase the surface area of the LEDs to be cooled.
The interior wall of the air treatment zone may comprise a U.V. reflective layer on at least a portion of the wall facing the interior of the air treatment zone. This increases the effect of the U.V. from the U.V. LEDs, by reflecting the U.V. back into the interior of the air treatment zone. Such reflective surfaces include a polytetrafluoroethylene such as EPTFE.
The device may be provided with a filter, such as a pollen filter, in order to remove particulates, such as pollen, prior to passage of the air through the air treatment zone. This has the additional advantage that it helps to prevent the build-up of dust on the surface of, for example, the reflective surface of the wall of the air treatment zone, or the U.V. LEDs.
Typically, the device does not comprise a photocatalyst such as titanium dioxide.
The air from the air treatment zone may be passed to one or more vents into the interior of the vehicle. Alternatively, each vent may have its own air treatment device. The typical maximum volume of air entering is less than 170 litres/second with approximately 30 litres/second at each vent. The vehicle may be a space, land, air, or water vehicle. Such vehicle may be selected from, for example, an automobile, a bus, a lorry, a van, a train, a tram, a cable car, an aeroplane, a ship and a spacecraft. Typically, the vehicles are able to transport passengers and may comprise a compartment for a driver.
The U.V. LEDs are typically U.V.c. LEDs, which emit ultraviolet light at the U.V.c. wavelength. U.V. LEDs are generally known in the art. The device may comprise a regulator to regulate the amount of U.V. light emitted by the U.V. LEDs into the air treatment zone. This may be in the form of a simple on/off switch or alternatively a control to regulate the amount of U.V. light emitted. For example, the amount of U.V. light used to treat the air may vary depending on the flow of air through the system. Accordingly, there may be provided a sensor to detect the amount of U.V. emitted into the air treatment zone and a detector to detect the flow of air through the air treatment zone. The amount of U.V. may be varied depending upon the amount of air passing through the air treatment zone.
A vehicle comprising a device according to the invention is also provided, wherein the vehicle is preferably defined as above.
The invention will now be described by way of invention only with reference to the following figures:
Figure 1 shows an arrangement according to one aspect of the invention in which air is treating with ultraviolet light, prior to being used to cool the LEDs.
Figure 2 shows an alternative arrangement of the invention, in which a separate cooling system is provided.
Figure 3 shows an alternative arrangement of the LED light mounted on the wall of the device.
In Figure 1 air is taken in through an intake (11) into the air treatment zone (12). The air may be from the outside of the vehicle, in which case the device is used to pre-treat the air prior to entering into the vehicle, or alternatively it is from within the vehicle, and may be used to treat air leaving the vehicle. Illustratively, air is passed through a tube. One end of the tube then passes into an air treatment zone (12) before leaving the air treatment zone at an air outlet (13). The treated air then passes into a cooling zone (14) where it passes LEDs (16) and cools excess heat from the LEDs, prior to exiting the device. The internals walls of the air treatment zone may be covered with a reflective lining such as EPTFE. This increases the amount of U.V. light transmitted into the interior of the air treatment zone and increases the efficiency. U.V.s may be mounted on the wall of the air treatment zone (12).
A wall (20) of the cooling zone (14) may comprise a non reflective or absorbent material such as a U.V. absorbent paint, in order to prevent escape of U.V. light from the air treatment zone (12). Figure 1 illustratively shows the U.V.c. emitted by one of the LEDs (22) into the air treatment zone (12).
Figure 2 shows an alternative arrangement in which there is provided an air inlet (11) to an air treatment zone (12), which also has an air outlet (13).
The cooling zone (14) has a separate fluid inlet (15) and outlet (17). Fluid, which may be a coolant liquid such as water, optionally with additives such as antifreeze or alternatively a gas, such as air or a refrigerant, may pass in the same direction as, or indeed in a counter direction to, the air flowing through the coolant chamber (12). The air treatment zone may have a substantially circular cross section, with the air treatment zone providing an annular cooling zone around the air treatment zone (12). In the example shown in Figure 2, the U.V. LED (16) is mounted on the wall of the air treatment zone (12). The wall itself may act as a heat sink, with it being cooled by fluid passing through the cooling zone (14).
Figure 3 shows an alternative arrangement of the LED. In Figure 3, there is provided a wall (24) which separates the air treatment zone (12) from the cooling zone (14). The LED (16) is mounted adjacent to a transparent window (26). This allows the transmission of U.V. light into the air treatment chamber (12). Alternatively, instead of a transparent window, there may simply be an aperture within the wall (24) and the LED is air sealed to the aperture by means of a suitable seal.
As discussed above, the amount of U.V. may be variable according to the amount of air passing through the air treatment zone. This may be varied, for example, by switching one or more LEDs on or off, or increasing the output from one or more of the LEDs. Accordingly, a control circuit may be provided.
The walls of the device may comprise any suitable material including metal and plastic materials.

Claims

Claims
1. A vehicle air treatment device comprising :
(iv) An air treatment zone comprising a wall defining the air treatment zone and an air inlet and air outlet;
(v) A plurality of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (U.V. LEDs) mounted on or adjacent to the wall and arranged to treat air passing through the air treatment zone with U.V. light; and
(vi) A cooling zone comprising a fluid for cooling the U.V. LEDs, optionally wherein the LEDs are U.V.c LEDs.
2. A device according to claim 1, wherein air from the vehicle interior passes through the air inlet into the air treatment zone and out of the air outlet to the exterior of the vehicle.
3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the air from the exterior or interior of the vehicle passes through the air inlet into the air treatment zone and out of the air outlet into the interior of the vehicle.
4. A device according to claims 1 to 3, wherein air from the air outlet passes through the cooling zone to cool the U.V. LEDs.
5. A device according to claims 1 to 3, wherein a coolant fluid is provided to cool the U.V. LEDs and the coolant is a liquid or a gas that has not been passed through the air treatment zone.
6. A device according to claim 5, wherein air is drawn from the outside of the vehicle through an air inlet into the cooling zone and then expelled from the cooling zone to the exterior of the vehicle.
7. A device according to claim 5, wherein a cooling liquid is passed through an inlet of the cooling zone into the cooling zone and passed out of the cooling zone.
8. A device according to claims 5 to 7, wherein the fluid from the cooling zone is passed through a heat exchanger to heat air passing into the vehicle.
9. A device according to claims 1 to 8, wherein the U.V. LEDs are mounted on the wall of the air treatment zone and the cooling zone cools the wall of the air treatment zone where the U.V. LEDs are mounted.
10. A device according to claims 1 to 8, wherein the U.V. LEDs are each mounted at a respective aperture in the wall of the air treatment zone, optionally wherein the aperture comprises a substantially U.V. transparent window to allow U.V. from the U.V. LEDs into the treatment zone.
11. A device according to claims 1 to 10, wherein the U.V. LEDs comprise one or more heat sinks.
12. A device according to claims 1 to 11, wherein the wall of the air treatment zone comprises a U.V. reflective light on at least a surface of the wall facing an interior of the air treatment zone.
13. A device according to claims 1 to 12, wherein the U.V. LEDs are U.V. LEDs.
14. A device according to claims 1 to 13, wherein the vehicle is a space, land, air or water vehicle.
15. A device according to claims 1 to 13, wherein the vehicle is selected from an automobile, a bus, a lorry, a van, a train, a tram, a cable car, an aeroplane, a ship and a spacecraft.
16. A device according to claims 1 to 15, wherein the U.V. LEDs are arranged to inactivate one or more airborne organisms within the air of the air treatment zone.
17. A device according to claims 1 to 16, comprising a regulator to regulate the amount of U.V. light emitted by the U.V. LEDs into the air treatment zone.
18. A device according to claim 17, comprising a sensor to detect the amount of U.V. emitted into the air treatment zone and a detector to detect the flow of air through the air treatment zone.
19. A device according to any preceding claim which does not comprise a photocatalyst, for example titanium dioxide.
20. A vehicle comprising a device according to claims 1 to 19.
21. A vehicle according to claims 20, wherein the vehicle is on space, land, air or water vehicle.
22. A vehicle according to claim 21, wherein the vehicle is selected from an automobile, a bus, a lorry, a van, a train, a tram, a cable car, an aeroplane, a ship and a spacecraft.
PCT/GB2020/050676 2019-04-02 2020-03-17 Vehicle air treatment device Ceased WO2020201696A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB1904578.0 2019-04-02
GBGB1904578.0A GB201904578D0 (en) 2019-04-03 2019-04-03 Vehicle air treatment device
GB1908858.2 2019-06-20
GBGB1908858.2A GB201908858D0 (en) 2019-06-20 2019-06-20 Vehicle air treatment device

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2020201696A1 true WO2020201696A1 (en) 2020-10-08

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB2020/050676 Ceased WO2020201696A1 (en) 2019-04-02 2020-03-17 Vehicle air treatment device

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WO (1) WO2020201696A1 (en)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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WO2008120005A1 (en) 2007-04-03 2008-10-09 Medi-Immune Ltd Protective device
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WO2022117868A1 (en) * 2020-12-04 2022-06-09 Jaguar Land Rover Limited Air purification apparatus for a heating, ventilation and cooling system of a vehicle
GB2604318A (en) * 2020-12-04 2022-09-07 Jaguar Land Rover Ltd Air purification apparatus for a heating, ventilation and cooling system of a vehicle
GB2604318B (en) * 2020-12-04 2023-04-26 Jaguar Land Rover Ltd Air purification apparatus for a heating, ventilation and cooling system of a vehicle

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