Will Dyson’s New Air-Purifying-Headphones Save The World From Coronavirus?

At a time when coronavirus is spreading across Asia and other parts of the world, Dyson has patented a wearable air purifier that can also be used as headphones, reported Bloomberg.

The patent specifies, that the headphones will filter the air to the user. It noted that “air pollution is an increasing problem, and a variety of air pollutants have known or suspected harmful effects on human health.”

A Dyson spokesman told Bloomberg, in an email response, that the company is “constantly creating disruptive solutions to problems, which means we file a lot of patents. If and when a product is ready, we’ll happily go through it, but until then, we don’t comment on our patents.” 

The “wearable air purifier” was first reported by Bloomberg several years ago. The patent describes how the device works: 

Both earcups contain a motor that’s connected to a fan-like propeller measuring 35-40mm. Each spin at about 12,000 rpm to draw about 1.4 liters of air per second into the headphones through a filter that particles — typically dust and bacteria, although not specified in the patent — cannot penetrate. The filtered air then journeys down each side of the mouthpiece, meeting in the middle, where a perforated air vent jets about 2.4 liters per second of clean oxygen toward the wearer’s mouth. However, there is no reference to a battery, or any illustration where one might fit.

Revelations of the patent come at a time when wearable purifiers could become a big hit in Asia for several reasons: instead of wearing virus masks – people might be able to use wearable air purifiers, but there was no mention in the patent about the device’s effectiveness against airborne diseases. Another reason why the technology could become big in Asia is because air quality is poor.

Last Oct., Dyson ditched its efforts to build an electric car. The company could soon focus on wearable air purifiers.