Liquid spray air purification and controlled humidification apparatus with air quality monitor and controller

An air handling unit comprising:

• a housing having an inlet opening, an outlet opening, and an internal flow path extending between said inlet opening and said outlet opening;
• blower means for sequentially flowing air inwardly through said inlet opening, through said internal flow path, and outwardly through said outlet opening;
• air purification means, positioned in said internal flow path, for receiving pressurized liquid from a source thereof, creating a spray from the received liquid, using the spray to purify air traversing said internal flow path, and then permitting the sprayed liquid to drain therefrom;
• sump means for holding a supply of liquid to be operatively supplied to said air purification means, and for receiving liquid draining from said air purification means;
• filter means having therein a filtering flow path through which liquid may be forced to trap pollutants from the liquid, and a backwashing flow path through which liquid may be forced to cleanse said filter means of trapped pollutants;
• a pump having an inlet communicatable with liquid in said sump means, and an outlet;
• conduit means interconnecting said pump outlet with said filtering flow path and said backwashing flow path, and said filtering flow path with said air purification means,
• switching means coupled with said conduit means and being selectively operative in a first mode to cause sump liquid discharged from said pump to be forced through said filtering flow path to said air purification means, or in a second mode to cause sump liquid discharged from said pump to be forced through said backwashing flow path;
• first monitoring means for detecting a change in an apparatus operating parameter, indicative of a predetermined lessening in the filtration efficiency of said filter means, and temporarily changing said switching means from said first mode thereof to said second mode thereof;
• and
• second monitoring means for detecting a change in selected environmental operating parameters and responsively controlling the operation of said air handling unit and said air purification means to maintain said selected environmental operating parameters within predetermined ranges therefor, said second monitoring means including:
• multi-parameter sensing means for sensing the temperature, humidity, and level of at least one pollutant in air discharged from said air handling unit and responsively generating sensed parameter signals, and
• air quality monitor and controller means, interconnected between (1) said multi-parameter sensing means and (2) said air handling unit and said air purification means, for receiving said sensed parameter signals and responsively generating system output control signals operative to regulate the operation of said air handling unit and said air purification means.