Ventilation – Having forced recirculation – Forced recirculation alone
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-10
2001-10-16
Lu, Jiping (Department: 3749)
Ventilation
Having forced recirculation
Forced recirculation alone
C454S236000, C055S338000, C055S418000, C055S473000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302783
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air-conditioning device.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Such an air-conditioning device is known from French patent publication 2,208,098. This document describes a device which takes up a very large amount of space and, moreover, has such a high weight that it has to be placed on the floor of a room. This device is intended not only for ventilation but also for the displacement of heat, i.e. for introducing heat or cold into the room in question. Consequently, it is necessary to arrange a radiator or the like therein.
Increasingly, society will no longer accept the noise and odour pollution resulting from ever increasing volumes of traffic. This means both road and air traffic. Regulations relating to acceptable sound levels inside houses are becoming increasingly strict, so that there is an ever increasing need to carry out sound-insulating measures. Although such measures are easy to carry out in technical terms, they present the problem of limited ventilation.
The authorities are defining ever more clearly the requirements which are to be satisfied by ventilation in a room, and if these requirements cannot be met, building permits and the like may be refused.
Hithereto, ventilation has been achieved with the aid of sound-proofing boxes. The use of ventilators and other mechanical air-displacement means allows optimum ventilation to be ensured under all conditions. However, this entails large devices as described in French patent 2,208,098. Other examples of particularly complex, large devices of this nature are to be found in American patent 5,225,176 and PCT application WO 95/30862.
Particularly when retrofitting additional ventilation features after a room has been sound-insulated, it is impossible to use the devices shown in these publications, for their bulk is such that their installation requires major alterations, which will not be acceptable to existing residents.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an air-conditioning device which can be of compact design and which does not entail any significant further increase in noise in the room in question. Moreover, it is important for a device of this nature to filter out harmful or undesirable substances as far as possible, while it is also intended that it should be possible to retrofit such a device in residences, offices and the like. Moreover, it is important that the mechanical displacement of air should take place as efficiently as possible, so that the device itself can be as efficient as possible.
Moreover, it is also sought to provide optimum filtering, i.e. to be able to filter out even very fine particles, such as soot particles.
This object is achieved in an air-conditioning device as described above, by means of the characterizing features of claim
1
.
The arrangement of the invention allows a particularly compact design. Installing the mechanical air-displacement means, such as ventilators, makes it possible to overcome a relatively great pressure difference across the filter, i.e. a relatively dense filter can be used, making it possible to filter out even small particles, such as soot particles. Moreover, it has been found that the arrangement according to the invention produces particularly little noise while allowing particularly compact external dimensions. A level of approximately 25 dba for the filter is given as a non-limiting example.
Arranging the inlet opening in the base, in contrast to the device described in French patent 2,208,098, results in a more natural ventilation and makes it possible to limit the sound pressure further.
In a preferred embodiment, the control means may comprise mechanical control means, such as a flap assembly. This flap assembly controls the effective cross section of the inlet opening and of the opening for fresh air. Preferably, the flap assembly is designed in such a manner that the total cross-sectional area, through which air flows, of these two openings remains essentially the same in each position. Moreover, it is possible to provide the mechanical air-displacement means, such as a ventilator, with an electronic control unit, which makes it possible to control the flow rate through the air-conditioning device according to the invention.
According to a further variant of the invention, further mechanical air-displacement means are present.
By influencing the flow rate brought about by the two mechanical air-displacement means both in the absolute sense and with respect to one another, it is possible to provide very accurate control which is optimally adapted to the prevailing conditions, with the result that an optimally low power consumption is obtained.
This power consumption can be limited still further by designing at least one of the said air-displacement means as ventilators which are provided with DC motors.
According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the outlet opening is arranged in a top surface which lies at a short distance below the free ends of its delimiting side, front and rear walls. The result is a further reduction in the sound pressure. Moreover, it has proven advantageous to arrange the mechanical air-displacement means for the inlet-outlet opening path as close as possible to the outlet opening and as far as possible from the inlet opening. The device according to the present invention can be retrofitted particularly advantageously in residences and will preferably be arranged at a reasonable height, in order, as far as possible, to avoid draught. The compact device according to the present invention allows this to take place in a simple manner.
Access to the filter, which will have to be cleaned periodically, is simple if the front wall of the holder is arranged so as to be at least partially removable. The filter may comprise any material which is known in the prior art. This filter may also comprise a combination of different layers. An example which may be mentioned is a so-called HEPA filter combined with a layer of activated carbon material. A filter of this nature may be arranged so that it is folded up inside the housing in question.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3299796 (1967-01-01), Toper et al.
patent: 3935803 (1976-02-01), Bush
patent: 4210429 (1980-07-01), Golstein
patent: 4705457 (1987-11-01), Belusa
patent: 4731903 (1988-03-01), Kennedy et al.
patent: 4759196 (1988-07-01), Davis
patent: 5225167 (1993-07-01), Wetzel
patent: 2015943 (1971-10-01), None
patent: 3632268 A1 (1988-04-01), None
patent: 2208098 (1974-06-01), None
patent: WO 9530862 (1995-11-01), None
Lu Jiping
Young & Thompson
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