Economizer

Details Economizer Economizer

2000-02-04

2002-02-12

Joyce, Harold (Department: 3749)

Ventilation

Having inlet airway

Including structure for mixing plural air streams together

C454S236000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06346041

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to air handling systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an economizer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Air handling systems are widely used to condition and distribute air within an internal space such as a commercial building.
FIG. 1
shows a cross-section view of a conventional air handling system
10
mounted on a roof
12
having as a component an economizer
14
positioned upstream of air handling unit components
22
. By way of example, the air handling unit components
22
may include components such as a cooling coil, a heating coil, and/or a fan, all of which are costly to operate.
Generally, the economizer
14
consists of a return air vent
18
in communication with an internal space
20
, an outside air vent
22
in communication with the outside environment
24
, and a mixing chamber
26
. The return air vent
18
is in communication with the mixing chamber
26
by two straight dampers
28
which open and close thru a maximum angular rotation of
45
degrees to control the flow of return air into the mixing chamber
26
. Similarly, the outside air vent
22
is in communication with the mixing chamber
26
by two straight dampers
30
which open and close to control the flow of outside air to the mixing chamber
26
. Depending upon one or more the characteristics of the outside air (i.e, temperature, humidity, etc.) and desired characteristics of the supply air, the straight dampers
28
and
30
are synchronously moved by a control mechanism moved (not shown) to provide an optimum mixture of return air and outside air in the mixing chamber
20
which minimizes the operation of the air handling unit components
22
and the energy costs incurred therewith.
Conventional economizers of the type exemplified by
FIG. 1
have several drawbacks. Movement and final position of the straight dampers
28
cause an excessive pressure drop across the straight damper
28
, thereby increasing the amount of energy needed to operate the second stage conditioning system
16
and/or the air handling system
10
.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
One object of the present invention is to provide an economizer that has a significantly lower pressure drop across the return air vent when mixing return air and outside air.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention is an economizer that can mix outside air and return air while incurring a significantly low pressure drop across the return air damper than conventional devices. In one embodiment, the economizer comprises a mixing chamber, a return air vent, and an outside air vent. The economizer further comprises a plurality of curved return air dampers moveable from an open position to a closed position to control the flow of return air to the mixing chamber. The economizer further comprises a plurality of straight dampers moveable from an open position to a closed position to control the flow of outside air to the mixing chamber. During operation of the economizer, a significantly lower pressure drop exists across the curved return air dampers than in conventional economizers. When used in connection with commercial buildings, for example, the economizer of the present invention significantly reduces energy consumption associated with the operation of the overall air handing system which results in significant cost savings to the commercial customer.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4078576 (1978-03-01), Punch et al.
patent: 5197920 (1993-03-01), Ganse
patent: 5632675 (1997-05-01), Kanninen et al.
patent: 5645481 (1997-07-01), Robinson et al.
Technical Sheet, Honeywell, Inc, Solid State Economizer, pp. 1-16, Nov. 1997.
Technical Sheet, Honeywell, Inc, Solid State Economizer, pp. 1-20, Jan. 1997.
Technical Sheet, Honeywell, Inc, Solid State Enthalpy Sensor, pp. 1-6, Jan. 1997.
Technical Sheet, Honeywell, Inc, Solid State Economizer, Logic Module, pp. 1-20, Dec., 1997.
Technical Sheet, Carrier Corporation, Economizer, pp. 1-4, 1999.
Technical Sheet, Carrier Corporation, Single-Package Rooftop Units Electric Cooling/Gas Heating, pp. 1-8, 1999.
Technical Sheet, MicroMetl Corporation, Convertible Economizers, pp. 1-8, 1999.

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