Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02921709 2016-02-24
TITLE: Hazardous Gas Response System
A. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to indoor air quality monitoring and response systems,
more specifically, the
detection and reduction of hazardous gas, chemicals, and airborne bacteria in
a home environment.
B. Description of Prior Art
The concept of a hazardous gas detector systems for indoor air quality
monitoring is by no means
novel. To address the continuing desire to improve home safety and prevent
health risks associated
with hazardous gas leaks, indoor airborne bacteria, and air pollutants various
products are presented
in the literature.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,379 B1; U.S. Pat. No. 9,030,330
B1; U.S. Pat. No.
8,803,696 B1; U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,141 B2; U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,352.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and
requirements, the
aforementioned patents do not disclose a product that monitors the HVAC air
filter and/or condition
of the evaporator coil. As a dirty air filter reduces the oxygen air flow to
the HVAC heat exchanger,
an increase in carbon monoxide levels occurs due to insufficient air inside
the burning chamber.
This may result in increased carbon monoxide gas generation inside the furnace
heat exchanger.
Prior arts do not monitor the condition of the air filter to ensure safe
operating conditions of the
HVAC system and reduce the likelihood of a carbon monoxide leak; due to a
cracked heat
exchanger as caused by furnace short-cycling. The inventive device includes a
housing that
comprises various sensors including a pressure sensor that is used to monitor
the health of the
HVAC air filter and evaporator coil. Furthermore, the present invention
overrides any thermostat in
the event of a hazardous gas leak. Prior art utilizes only the heat line to
shut off the HVAC system
which creates problems whereby only the furnace is shut off. If any hazardous
gases or airborne
pollutants exist inside in the ventilation ducts, they can be circulated
throughout the house
environment if the air conditioning system is turned on. Furthermore, upon
detection of carbon
monoxide, prior art does not address to reduce the levels of the said gas, but
rather simply notify of
its existence.
In these respects, the hazardous gas response system according to the present
invention substantially
departs from the conventional concepts and designs of prior art. In so doing,
provides an apparatus
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primarily developed for the monitoring of the HVAC air filter and evaporator
coil. Furthermore,
hazardous gas leaks such as carbon monoxide are identified at the source,
thereby helping to reduce
the effects of prolonged exposure to such hazardous gases. Furthermore, the
system notifies when to
change the air filter i.e. when it is dirty, to ensure optimal safe
performance of the system; prior art
set a predated notification schedule for changing the air filter, even though
the filter may require
being changed prior to the scheduled date. Lastly, carbon monoxide levels are
reduced by injecting a
catalyst into the HVAC system upon detection of a predetermined level of
carbon monoxide,
thereby reducing the chances of prolonged exposure to deadly levels of said
gas.
C. Summary of the Invention
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in existing carbon monoxide
detectors and in the
prior art, the present invention provides a novel method of monitoring the
HVAC air filter, while
also providing a method to monitor and reduce carbon monoxide levels and
trigger a warning alarm
throughout the entirety of a house via a novel method.
The embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally
comprising a
housing with integrated sensors and a user interface for indicating the level
of air pollutants and
hazardous gas toxicity in a house. The housing extends into the ventilation
duct to sample the air
circulating through the house ventilation and HVAC system. Upon detection of
predetermined levels
of carbon monoxide, the system will notify that an HVAC service is required
will attempting to
reduce the levels of said gas and trigger a warning alarm if levels become
threatening and
detrimental to one's health. Furthermore, the invention notifies when to
change the air filter and
clean the evaporator coil based on the performance of the HVAC system.
D. Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG 1 illustrates the electrical and mechanical interface between the
invention and the home HVAC
system; with the focus on the air ventilation ducts. FIG 1 further depicts the
electrical interface
between the invention and the main HVAC power switch, thermostat, and the
invention's response
unit (ERU).
FIG 2 demonstrates the propagation of a sound signal throughout the home via
the ventilation ducts,
wherein said sound signal can be an alarm signal from the invention.
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FIG 3 presents three stages for a carbon monoxide severity scale, wherein said
scale uses a user
friendly "Normal", "Caution", and "Critical" to define the appropriate level
of carbon monoxide
concentration.
FIG 4 shows an add-on unit of the invention as a sensor and alarm positioned
at the registers and/or
wall grills inside rooms throughout the house.
E. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS 1 through 4
thereof, a novel
hazardous gas response system and concepts of an embodiment of the system and
generally
designated by the reference numeral 1 or 'Everest' will be described.
As best illustrated in FIGS 1 through 4, the invention 1 comprises a user
interface as in FIG 3. The
interface 2 has four lights 15, 16, 18, 19 indicating the state and health of
the HVAC system and
house air quality. Each of the four lights is labelled on the screen of the
user interface, accordingly.
As viewed in FIG 1 the sensors 6, 7, 8 and audio speaker 3 are placed inside a
probe that is
positioned behind the user interface FIG 3. The probe is inserted into the
ventilation duct above the
coil 10 through a drilled hole on the side of duct. Four mounting holes 28,
29, 30, 31 are positioned
on the front of the invention 1 to connect it to the duct using 4 screws. The
Everest 1 is connected
intermediate to the thermostat 20 through the Heat/Cool (R) line 21 and the
control board 13.
The Everest 1, positioned inside the ventilation ducts, comprises a user
friendly interface 2 to
indicate the level of carbon monoxide present inside the house. Furthermore, 1
has an integrated
audio system 3 to sound an alarm through the ventilation supply ducts 4 and
ventilation return ducts
upon detection of elevated levels of carbon monoxide gas or other air
pollutants. Levels of said
gas are detected using the carbon monoxide detector 6 and the presence of air
pollutants and other
hazardous gases are identified using the air quality sensor 7. The Everest 1
also comprises a pressure
sensor 8 to monitor the performance of the HVAC air filter 9 and evaporator
coil 10. In the event of
a pressure drop, the "Service" light 18 will emit to notify the need for
changing the air filter or
cleaning a blocked evaporator coil. The Everest 1 is powered by one of 3
methods, a. back-up
battery 11, b. power socket 12, and/or c. through the furnace control board 13
via a power line 14.
Upon "Normal" levels of carbon monoxide inside the home environment, the
Everest 1 will light
green 15. Upon predetermined elevated levels of carbon monoxide wherein said
level are not
immediately harmful to the human body, and indicated by an amber or yellow
light 16, the Everest
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Response Unit (ERU) 17 is activated to lower the carbon monoxide levels by
introducing a catalyst
into the HVAC system. During the operation of the ERU 17, blue "Service" light
18 and "Caution"
16 are emitted. If the levels of carbon monoxide pose an immediate health
risk, the interface will
emit "Critical" 19 and sound a warning alarm 3 through the ventilation supply
4 and return ducts 5.
Upon carbon monoxide detection level 19, the Everest 1 simultaneously
overrides any HVAC
thermostat 20 through its Heat/Cool line 21 to shut down the entire HVAC
system. Alternatively,
the Everest 1 may shut down the HVAC system through the main HVAC power switch
22 while
maintaining power for the alarm through the back-up battery 11. The warning
alarm 3 emitted by the
Everest 1 is distributed into the rooms through the supply registers 23 and
return grills 24. The
registers have an embedded buzzer 25, and set of coloured lighting 26 that
supplement the Everest 1
to provide additional indication of hazardous gases in specific rooms.
Furthermore, the register grills
can act as a standalone system by incorporating sensors 27 to detect local
hazardous gases at the
registers and wall-grills in each room.
F. Applications and Benefits
The invention disclosed herein applies to the monitoring of the health of HVAC
air filters and
quality of air circulating in an indoor environment. It can be used in any
house or indoor facility
utilizing an HVAC system. Its benefits are in its capability to analyze the
concentration of carbon
monoxide at its source and take necessary measures to reduce the harmful
effects of said gas until
the system is repaired or, to shut down the entire HVAC system to ensure the
hazardous gas is not
circulated throughout the entirety of an indoor facility.
Further applications include the assessment and analysis of airborne chemicals
(including pollens
and bacteria) as well as other harmful gases such as Radon that are contained
inside the ground and
travel into homes through miniature cracks inside the building foundation. The
proposed system can
detect such health risks and provide a warning signal much quicker than
traditional methods and
also inform when to change and service the system to prevent such health risks
from occurring in
general.
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