Methods and apparatus for combating sick building syndrome

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for combating sick building syndrome include a plenum that is at least partially bounded by fabric comprising at least one naturally occurring botanically based, antimicrobial, morbidity-inducing fabric and preferably a fan for introducing air into the plenum for passage outwardly through the fabric thereby to cleanse the air of microbes contributing to sick building syndrome.

1 ) A modular unit for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) a frame surrounding an open interior and defining the outer periphery of the unit;   b) air permeable, antimicrobial, morbidity-inducing fabric, comprising a naturally occurring antimicrobial botanical compound, secured about the frame periphery on a first side of the frame and covering the open interior on a first side of the frame;   c) an air impermeable member secured about and covering the frame periphery on a remaining side of the frame;   d) at least one aperture formed in the frame and being adapted to house a fan therein;   e) a fan housed in the aperture for blowing air from outside the frame into the frame interior for subsequent passage of air blown into the frame interior outwardly through the fabric.   
     
     
         2 ) A modular unit for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) a frame having an open center and defining the outer periphery of the unit, the frame including a pair of parallel spaced apart lateral members connected by at least one tensioning cable and at least one aperture opening into the open center;   b) air permeable, antimicrobial, morbidity-inducing fabric comprising a naturally occurring antimicrobial botanical compound secured about the frame periphery on a first side of the frame and covering the open center;   c) the frame periphery on a remaining side of the frame being adapted to fit against a wall;   d) a fan mounted in the aperture for blowing air from outside the frame into the frame interior, for subsequent air passage outwardly through the fabric;   e) the cable(s) being adapted to connect to one or more cable gripping devices mounted in a wall so upon connection to the cable gripping devices the cable pulls the remaining side of the frame against the wall thereby closing the unit interior so that air may enter the unit interior only by action of the fan.   
     
     
         3 ) A modular unit for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) a frame surrounding an open interior and defining an outer periphery of the unit;   b) air permeable, antimicrobial, morbidity-inducing fabric comprising a naturally occurring antimicrobial botanical compound secured about the periphery on a first side of the frame and covering the open interior on the first side of the frame;   c) at least one aperture formed in the frame;   d) a fan mounted in the aperture for blowing air from outside the frame into the frame interior, for subsequent air passage outwardly through the fabric;   e) the unit being mountable against a vertical wall by a portion of the frame hanging on at least one member protruding from the wall, with a second side of the frame being flush with the wall so that air blown into the open interior of the frame by the fan escapes from the frame interior by passing through the fabric.   
     
     
         4 ) A modular unit for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) a frame surrounding an open interior and defining the outer periphery of the unit;   b) air permeable, antimicrobial, morbidity-inducing fabric comprising a naturally occurring antimicrobial botanical compound secured about the frame periphery on a first side of the frame and covering the open interior on the first side of the frame;   c) a pair of apertures each formed in the frame, one aperture in an upper extremity of the frame and the other aperture in a lower extremity of the frame;   d) at least one fan mounted on the frame and extending into the open interior, aligned with one of the apertures, for drawing air from outside the frame into the frame interior through the aligned aperture, for subsequent air passage from the frame interior outwardly through the fabric;   e) the frame being mountable against a vertically extending wall by an upper portion of the frame hanging on at least one member protruding from the wall, with a second side of the frame being substantially flush with the wall so that air drawn into the open interior of the frame by the fan escapes by passing through the fabric.   
     
     
         5 ) A modular unit for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) a horizontal frame surrounding an open interior and defining a portion of the outer periphery of a filter portion of the unit having an outwardly facing upwardly elongated surface;   b) air permeable, antimicrobial, morbidity-inducing fabric comprising a naturally occurring antimicrobial botanical compound secured around the frame periphery on a downwardly facing side of the frame and covering the open interior on the downwardly facing side of the frame;   c) porous light-reflective fabric secured about the frame periphery on the upwardly facing side of the frame and covering the frame periphery on the upwardly facing side of the frame;   d) at least one fan mounted in the frame for blowing air from outside the frame into the frame interior, for subsequent passage of air blown into the frame interior, outwardly through the air permeable fabric.   e) an exterior portion of the frame outer periphery being planar for facingly contacting a portion of a window;   f) at least one member extending upwardly from the frame for upwardly supporting the frame about a pivotal connection at a position remote from the planar portion of the frame to permit weight of the frame to urge the frame against the portion of the window and maintain the frame in a horizontal plane;   g) at least one solar cell positionable to receive solar energy through the window, connected to and powering the fan.   
     
     
         6 ) A modular unit for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) a frame surrounding an open interior and defining the outer periphery of the unit;   b) air permeable, antimicrobial, morbidity-inducing fabric comprising a naturally occurring antimicrobial botanical compound secured about the frame periphery on an upper side of the frame and covering the open interior on the upper side of the frame;   c) porous reflective non-woven fabric secured about the frame periphery on the remaining side of the frame and covering the frame periphery on the remaining side of the frame;   d) at least one aperture formed in the frame being adapted to house a fan therein;   e) a fan mounted in the aperture for blowing air into the frame interior for subsequent passage of that air outwardly through the air permeable fabric.   f) struts extending from the frame, for supporting the unit by suspension thereof from the struts in mid-air within a room in a building.   
     
     
         7 ) Apparatus for combating sick building syndrome, comprising:
 a) a plenum at least partially bounded by fabric comprising at least one naturally occurring anti-bacterial substance exhibiting microorganism morbidity inducing properties; and   b) a fan for introducing air into the plenum for passage outwardly through the fabric.   
     
     
         8 ) Apparatus for combating sick building syndrome, comprising:
 a) fabric comprising at least one naturally occurring substance exhibiting microorganism morbidity inducing properties; and   b) a frame adapted for affixation of the fabric thereacross; and   c) a fan for blowing air through a portion of the fabric affixed across the frame.   
     
     
         9 ) Apparatus of  claim 7  wherein the naturally occurring anti-bacterial substance is botanically based. 
     
     
         10 ) A method for combating sick building syndrome, comprising:
 a) providing a plenum that is at least partially bounded by fabric including at least one naturally occurring substance exhibiting microorganism morbidity inducing properties; and   b) introducing air into the plenum for passage outwardly through the fabric.   
     
     
         11 ) A method for combating sick building syndrome, comprising:
 a) providing a fabric comprising at least one naturally occurring substance exhibiting microorganism morbidity inducing properties, affixed across a frame; and   b) blowing air through a portion of the fabric affixed across the frame.   
     
     
         12 ) The method of  claim 11  wherein the naturally occurring substance exhibiting microorganism morbidity inducing properties is clove oil. 
     
     
         13 ) The method of  claim 11  wherein the naturally occurring substance exhibiting microorganism morbidity inducing properties is eugenol. 
     
     
         14 ) Apparatus of  claim 7  wherein the naturally occurring substance exhibiting microorganism morbidity inducing properties is clove oil. 
     
     
         15 ) Apparatus of  claim 7  wherein the naturally occurring substance exhibiting microorganism morbidity inducing properties is eugenol. 
     
     
         16 ) Apparatus for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) vertically upstanding members positioned at the corners of an imaginary rectangle, one edge of the rectangle being considered the front;   b) one pair of members having a first member at the right front of the rectangle and the second member at the right rear of the rectangle and a second pair of members having a first member at the left front of the rectangle and a second member at the left rear of the rectangle;   c) a plurality of vertically spaced apart bracing members connecting respective ones of the upstanding first and second members of the respective pairs of upstanding members along respective sides of the rectangle;   d) lateral members extending between vertically correspondingly positioned pairs of the horizontally extending parallel bracing members;   e) air permeable, botanically based antimicrobial, morbidity-inducing fabric connected to and extending between vertically adjacent pairs of lateral members;   f) the lateral members being movably positionable along the parallel bracing members, between front and rear, to cause the fabric portions connected thereto and extending therebetween to conform to selected contours, a portion of or all of which may approximate the upper surface of an airfoil, in response to air blowing thereagainst.   
     
     
         17 ) Apparatus for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) vertically upstanding members positioned at the corners of an imaginary rectangle, one edge of the rectangle being considered the front;   b) one pair of members having a first member at the right front of the rectangle and the second member at the right rear of the rectangle and a second pair of members having a first member at the left front of the rectangle and a second member at the left rear of the rectangle;   c) a plurality of vertically spaced apart bracing members connecting respective ones of the upstanding first and second members of the respective pairs of upstanding members along respective sides of the rectangle;   d) air permeable, botanically based antimicrobial, morbidity-inducing fabric connected to and extending between the vertically spaced apart bracing members.   
     
     
         18 ) The modular unit for improving indoor air quality of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         19 ) The modular unit for improving indoor air quality of  claim 2  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         20 ) The modular unit for improving indoor air quality of  claim 3  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         21 ) The modular unit for improving indoor air quality of  claim 4  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         22 ) The modular unit for improving indoor air quality of  claim 5  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         23 ) The modular unit for improving indoor air quality of  claim 6  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         24 ) The modular unit for improving indoor air quality of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution of a naturally occurring substance having antimicrobial properties; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to fabric to achieve a desired amount of solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric; and 
 d) curing the fabric. 
 
     
     
         25 ) Apparatus of  claim 7  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         26 ) Apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         27 ) Apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         28 ) Apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         29 ) Apparatus of  claim 7  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution of a naturally occurring substance having antimicrobial properties; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to fabric to achieve a desired amount of solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric; and 
 d) curing the fabric. 
 
     
     
         30 ) Apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the fabric is an antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric made according to a process comprising the steps of:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution of a naturally occurring substance having antimicrobial properties; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to fabric to achieve a desired amount of solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric; and 
 d) curing the fabric. 
 
     
     
         31 ) The method of  claim 10  wherein the step of providing the fabric further comprises
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         32 ) The method of  claim 11  wherein the step of providing the fabric further comprises
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes; 
 d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes. 
 
     
     
         33 ) The method of  claim 10  wherein the step of providing the fabric further comprises
 a) preparing an aqueous solution of a naturally occurring substance having antimicrobial properties; 
 b) applying the aqueous solution to fabric to achieve a desired amount of solution pickup; 
 c) drying the fabric; and 
 d) curing the fabric. 
 
     
     
         34 ) A process for preparing antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution consisting of between about 5 and about 15 grams of eugenol per liter of solution, between about 5 and about 10 grams of polyvinyl alcohol per liter of solution and about 100 grams per liter of glyoxal per liter of solution;   b) applying the aqueous solution to the fabric to achieve about 65 percent by weight solution pickup;   c) drying the fabric at between about 80° and about 85° C. for about 4 minutes;   d) curing the fabric at between about 120° C. and about 140° C. for between about 3 and about 5 minutes.   
     
     
         35 ) A process for preparing antimicrobial, biocidal cotton and/or rayon fabric for improving indoor air quality, comprising:
 a) preparing an aqueous solution of a naturally occurring substance having antimicrobial properties;   b) applying the aqueous solution to fabric to achieve a desired amount of solution pickup;   c) drying the fabric; and   d) curing the fabric.