DE20102737U1 - Air outlet device and associated air conditioning device - Google Patents

Description

RICHTER, WERDERMANN & GERBAULET EUROPEAN PATENT ATTORNEYS · PATENT ATTORNEYS EUROPEAN TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS

HAMBURG ■ BERLIN

DIPL.-ING. JOACHIM RICHTER ■ BERLIN DIPL.-ING. HANNES GERBAULET · HAMBURG DIPL.-ING. FRANZ WERDERMANN · - 1986

NEW WALL IO
2&Ogr;354 HAMBURG
¹ S (04O) 34 OO 45/34 00 56
FAX (040) 35 24 15

KUFRÜRSTENDAMM IO719 BERLIN &thgr; (03O) 8 82 74 FAX (030) 8 82 32 IN COOPERATION WITH MAINITZ & MAINITZ LAWYERS · NOTARIES

YOUR SIGN
YOUR FILE

OUR SIGN
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R 542 III 4218

HAMBURG 14.02.2001 IV/Se

Applicant:

Rud. Otto Meyer GmbH & Co. KG Tilsiter Strasse 162 DE-22047 Hamburg

Title:

Air outlet device and associated air conditioning device

Description

Air outlet device on or in a housing of an air conditioning device with at least one air inlet device of the housing for room air, which is provided with at least one, in particular with several air outlet openings for the discharge of conditioned and/or conditioned air, wherein air conditioning/tempering means for conditioning and/or tempering the air entering through the air inlet device are provided in the housing.

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Such air outlet devices, which are sometimes also referred to as air outlets, can be found in the rooms of a building as part of an (overall) air conditioning system. In rooms to be air-conditioned, air boxes are conventionally installed on the wall in a linear, particularly horizontal, and in some cases vertical, manner. These have outlet slots in their upper area from which cooled or heated air emerges, depending on requirements and the time of year.

Inside these air boxes, nozzles, namely so-called induction nozzles, are arranged horizontally or vertically, from which fresh air (primary air) processed by a central air conditioning system flows. As a result of the induction effect of the nozzles, used room air (secondary air) entering through an inlet slot provided in the lower area of the air box is entrained and sucked in, so to speak, and this sucked-in air is then led through a heat exchanger arranged in the air box.

As a result, fresh air flows out of the outlet slots from the central air conditioning system and is mixed with the room air cooled or heated by the heat exchanger. To complete the (overall) air conditioning system of the room, air extraction shafts are provided elsewhere that feed the used room air from the central air conditioning system for processing.

A not insignificant shortcoming of the conventional systems described above is that the linear, i.e. horizontal or, in individual cases, vertical air boxes on the wall or, for example, along an upper edge of a room are not sufficient for optimal supply of larger rooms; this problem is particularly acute when high heat loads occur, such as those that can occur in the form of high outside temperatures and/or in the form of (corner) rooms with large window areas.

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Another problem with such a linear arrangement of air outlets is that the air speed in the outflow direction initially remains very high, which means that the "flat" air jet generated by a conventional air box only reduces its high exit speed very slowly (so-called "rectangular jets" even tend to constrict the jet and lead to undesirable acceleration effects). Such flat air jets also cause so-called "room rollers" rotating in one direction, which in most cases leads to unpleasant and health-threatening drafts for people in the room, for example in the neck area and/or in the back area and/or in the ankle area.

In order to counteract the problems mentioned above with linear and/or box-shaped air outlets, air outlets are often installed downstream that divert the escaping air stream in two flow directions. However, this technology is associated with the significant risk of so-called "short-circuit flows", i.e. treated fresh air that has just been blown out is sucked back in by the air conditioning system unnecessarily and uneconomically.

Based on this, the present invention is based on the task of designing an air outlet device of the type mentioned at the beginning and an associated air conditioning device of the type mentioned at the beginning in such a way that even when high heat loads occur, such as those that may occur, for example, in the form of high outside temperatures and/or in the form of (corner) rooms with large window fronts, an optimal air conditioning supply for larger rooms is ensured; furthermore, the present invention aims to achieve the same result as conventional air conditioning devices, and not least through their air-

To reliably prevent unpleasant and health-endangering draughts caused by exhaust devices, whereby downstream air outlets or the like should be avoided in particular.

This object is achieved by the features specified in claim 1 and in claim 11. Advantageous embodiments and expedient further developments of the present invention are characterized in the respective subclaims.

According to the teaching of the present invention, since the part of the housing associated with the air outlet device of the air conditioning device is delimited by a curved line or by a curved surface, the air outlet is no longer linear, i.e. no longer along a straight - horizontal or vertical - line, but is "bent" or "curved", thereby realizing a completely new ventilation concept.

This ventilation concept is essentially based on the fact that the air outlet openings - instead of being arranged in a row as before - are now distributed along a curved line or on a curved surface, so that the air processed and/or conditioned by the air conditioning device can advantageously be released in a substantially radial direction, whereas the intake of the air to be processed and/or conditioned expediently takes place in the middle and/or in the center of the air conditioning device.

In particular, but not only, if the entire air outlet body has a substantially radially symmetrical or a substantially rotationally symmetrical shape (for example, consider a substantially circular design or a substantially annular design or a substantially cylindrical

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Design or a substantially conical design or a substantially cone-shaped design; but a substantially ellipsoidal design or another curved, bent or curved design is also conceivable), a conical air jet flows out of the individual air outlet openings, the air speed of which decreases sharply with increasing distance from the air outlet device; consequently, draughts and in particular the formation of so-called "space rollers" caused by the supply air can be reliably excluded.

Furthermore, the person skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention allows the conditioned fresh air flowing out through the present air outlet device to reach a much larger area of the room, so that the air conditioning device can preferably be arranged in the middle of the room or centrally, for example on or in the ceiling of a room.

By arranging the air outlet openings along the curved line or on the curved surface, very special comfort advantages can be achieved in a way that is surprising to the expert, as the outflowing air flow widens in a somewhat conical manner (in contrast to initially high air speeds in the outflow direction with a linear arrangement of the air outlets). Such a conical widening as a result of the air emerging from the outlet device entering increasing flow surfaces leads to a significant slowing down of the air flow, so that even at a small spatial distance from the air outlet device there is a very wide air flow with a cross-section that is roughly circular and has a very low air speed; thus there is no need for downstream air outlets or the like (in contrast, a box-shaped device builds up a large area of air flow in the direction of flow).

A "flat" air jet generated attains a speed that is significantly worse than a radially or rotationally symmetrical air jet).

With the present invention, a very large volume of air can therefore be introduced into a room without causing annoying and unhealthy drafts, because the speed of the air passing by the people and objects in the room remains comfortably low; at the same time, however, the volume of air can be conveyed that is necessary to achieve the desired cooling or heating, for example in a room in which two sides of the room are (almost) fully glazed.

Finally, with regard to the present invention, it is considered advantageous that the housing of the air conditioning device has an extremely compact design by limiting the part associated with the air outlet device in the form of a curved line or in the form of a curved surface. For example, with an external diameter of around one meter and the same outlet length, three box-shaped air conditioning devices would have to be used, which would also mean three times the connection effort for the air and water supply.

Five embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1A shows a first embodiment of an air conditioning device according to the present invention, in a schematic cross-sectional view;

Fig. 1B shows the air conditioning device from Fig. 1A, in a schematic longitudinal section along the section line A - A from Fig. 1A;

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of an air conditioning device according to the present invention, in a schematic cross-sectional view;

Fig. 3 shows a third embodiment of an air conditioning device according to the present invention, in a schematic cross-sectional view;

Fig. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of an air conditioning device according to the present invention, in a schematic cross-sectional view; and

Fig. 5 shows a fifth embodiment of an air conditioning device according to the present invention, in a schematic cross-sectional view.

Identical or similar configurations, elements or features are provided with identical reference numerals in Figures 1A to 5.

The five embodiments of an air conditioning device 100 illustrated in Figures 1A to 5 each have a substantially rotationally symmetrical housing 10. In the first embodiment (see Figures 1A and 1B), the second embodiment (see Figure 2) and the third embodiment (see Figure 3), the housing 10 is centrally attached to the ceiling of the room to be air-conditioned and hangs down from the ceiling, whereas in the fourth embodiment (see Figure 4) and the fifth embodiment (see Figure 5), the housing 10 is set centrally into the ceiling of the room to be air-conditioned, so that in principle only a circular air inlet device 20 can be seen from the room to be air-conditioned.

as can be seen an annular air outlet device 30 running around this air inlet device 20.

The five embodiments of the air conditioning device 100 thus each have an air inlet device 20 provided with a circular opening on the underside of the housing 10 facing the interior of the room, which is arranged centrally on or in the housing 10, so that the intake of the air to be processed and/or conditioned, indicated by corresponding arrows, takes place in the middle and in the center of the air conditioning device 100 (in this context, it generally applies to Figures 1A to 5 that the direction and the path of the air flow through the respective housing 10 is shown by the arrows shown).

Inside the housing 10, nozzles 40 in the form of so-called induction nozzles are provided, from which fresh air flows that has been prepared by a central air conditioning system (not shown in Figures 1A to 5 for reasons of clarity of illustration). Due to the induction effect of the nozzles 40, the used room air entering through the inlet opening 20 provided in the lower area of the housing 10 is entrained and sucked in, as it were.

This sucked-in air is then guided through a heat exchanger 60 housed in the housing 10, which is ring-shaped or hollow-cylindrical and provided with water connections 70 (see Figures 1A and 1B as an example), whereby the air is cooled or heated depending on requirements and the time of year. In order to achieve the most even possible distribution of the used room air entering through the air inlet device 20 to the heat exchanger 60, a conical air distribution device 90 is provided in the center of the housing 10 in the fourth embodiment (see Figure 4) and the fifth embodiment (see Figure 5).

As a result, fresh air supplied by the central air conditioning system, i.e. discharged through the nozzles 40 and mixed with the room air cooled or heated by the heat exchanger 60, flows out of the outlet slots or air outlet openings 300 of the air outlet device 30. For connection to the air conditioning system, air supply lines and shafts 80 connected to the housing 10 are provided, which supply the treated air from treatment by the central air conditioning system to the nozzles 40.

The special feature of the five embodiments of the air conditioning device 100 illustrated in Figures 1A to 5 can now be seen in the design of the air outlet device 30 arranged on or in the housing 10 of the air conditioning device 100 and intended for discharging the processed and conditioned air:

The part of the housing 10 assigned to the air outlet device 30 is delimited by a curved surface (cf. first, second and third embodiments according to Figures 1A, 1B, 2 and 3) or by a curved line (cf. fourth and fifth embodiments according to Figures 4 and 5; note in particular the essentially slot-shaped design of the air outlet openings 300) in that the treated and conditioned air can be released outwards in an essentially radial direction in all five embodiments. This is made possible by the radially symmetrical or rotationally symmetrical design of the air outlet device 30, with a cylindrical design (cf. first, second and third embodiments according to Figures 1A, 2 and 3) or an annular design (cf. fourth and fifth embodiments according to Figures 4 and 5) being selected in particular in order to achieve a radial release of the treated and conditioned air.

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As can be seen from the illustration in Figures 1A to 5 and as already mentioned above in connection with the air intake through the air inlet device 20, nozzles 40 in the form of so-called induction nozzles for emitting fresh air are arranged upstream of at least some of the air outlet openings 300 in the housing 10. In the first embodiment (see Figure 1A) and in the third embodiment (see Figure 3), the nozzles 40 pointing radially and star-shaped outwards are arranged in the outer surface of a hollow cylindrical nozzle box 50 and emit the fresh air prepared by the central air conditioning system radially and star-shaped outwards.

Such a radial and star-shaped release of the fresh air is also provided in the second embodiment (see Figure 2), whereby in this case the radial and star-shaped outward-pointing nozzles 40 are arranged in the respective outer surface of two disk-shaped nozzle boxes 50 which are connected to one another by a connection 55 and between which the heat exchanger 60 is accommodated; in other words, this means that the nozzle boxes 50 and with them the nozzles 40 are arranged distributed at two different heights within the housing 10.

What the first three embodiments according to Figures 1A to 3 have in common is a substantially horizontal, i.e. radial or star-shaped outward blowing of the fresh air supplied by the central air conditioning system, i.e. emitted through the nozzles 40 and mixed with the room air cooled or heated by the heat exchanger 60:

Here, the air outlet openings 300 in the first embodiment according to Figures 1A and 1B and in the second embodiment according to Figure 2 are arranged in the area directly under the ceiling of the room.

so that the housing 10 of the air conditioning device 100 has a slightly bulbous (see Figure 1A) or pronouncedly bulbous (see Figure 2) shape that accommodates the nozzle box 50 and the heat exchanger 60. In contrast, the air outlet openings 300 in the third embodiment according to Figure 3 are not provided directly below, but at a distance from the ceiling of the room, so that the housing 10 of the air conditioning device 100 has an approximately disc-shaped shape that accommodates the nozzle box 50 and two heat exchangers 60.

If one compares the first embodiment according to Figures 1A and 1B, the second embodiment according to Figure 2 and the third embodiment according to Figure 3 with each other, in the first embodiment according to Figures 1A and 1B the hollow cylindrical heat exchanger 60 is provided below the nozzle box 50 so that the used room air sucked in through the air inlet device 20 is guided along the heat exchanger 60 below the nozzle box 50 and is tempered by it. In the second embodiment according to Figure 2 the hollow cylindrical heat exchanger 60 is arranged between two disk-shaped nozzle boxes 50 so that the used room air sucked in through the air inlet device 20 is guided along the heat exchanger 60 between the two nozzle boxes 50 and is tempered by it. In contrast, in the third embodiment according to Figure 3, the ring-shaped nozzle box 50 is accommodated between two hollow-cylindrical heat exchangers 60, so that the used room air sucked in through the air inlet device 20 is divided as it were and guided both below and above the nozzle box 50 along the respective heat exchanger 60 and tempered by it.

In the fourth embodiment (see Figure 4) and the fifth embodiment (see Figure 5), the nozzles 40 are not arranged in a nozzle box 50, but rather between the hollow-cylindrical heat exchanger 60 and the air outlet device 30. The used room air sucked in through the air inlet device 20 is guided along the heat exchanger 60 and tempered by the latter - evenly distributed by means of the conical air distribution device 90 arranged within the heat exchanger 60. After the air has passed through the area of the heat exchanger 60, it is mixed with fresh air emitted by the nozzles 40 and released back into the room to be air-conditioned through the rotationally symmetrical slot-shaped air outlet device 30. In this case, in the area of the air outlet device 30, more precisely at the outer edge of the air outlet device 30, an annular recess 310 designed as a recess (cf. Figures 4 and 5) is provided for deflecting the processed and/or conditioned air.

If the fourth embodiment according to Figure 4 is examined more closely, it is noticeable that the housing 10 is frustoconical, i.e. essentially conical, with the blow-off direction of the nozzles 40 being oriented in a direction essentially parallel to the outer surface of the frustoconical, i.e. diagonally to the side; this achieves optimal mixing of the fresh air prepared by the central air conditioning system with the tempered air coming from the heat exchanger 60.

In the area below the heat exchanger 60, a circumferential condensate tray 92 is arranged, through which condensate liquid dripping from the heat exchanger 60 is collected; again below this, a retaining device 94 is arranged, which serves essentially the same purposes as the condensate tray 92.

In contrast, the housing 10 of the fifth embodiment according to Figure 5 is circular-cylindrical, i.e. rotationally symmetrical, with the blow-off direction of the nozzles 40 again being oriented in a direction substantially parallel to the surface of the truncated cone, i.e. vertically downwards; this also achieves optimal mixing of the fresh air prepared by the central air conditioning system with the tempered air coming from the heat exchanger 60.

In the area below the heat exchanger 60, a circumferential air guidance system 96 (see Figure 5) is arranged for (slightly) narrowing the slot-shaped air outlet opening 300 for the conditioned and cooled or heated room air coming from the heat exchanger 60 and mixed with the fresh air exiting from the nozzles 40.

List of reference symbols

100 Air conditioning device 10 Housing 20 Air inlet device 30 Air outlet device 300 Air outlet openings 310 Recess, preferably designed as a recess 40 Nozzle, especially induction nozzle 50 Nozzle box 55 Connection 60 Air conditioning breathing apparatus, especially heat exchangers 70 Water connection 80 Air supply lines and ducts 90 Air distribution device 92 Condensate tray 94 Restraint device 96 Air guidance system

Claims (17)

1. Air outlet device ( 30 ) on or in a housing ( 10 ) of an air conditioning device ( 100 ) with at least one air inlet device ( 20 ) of the housing ( 10 ) for room air, which is provided with at least one, in particular with several air outlet openings ( 300 ) for the discharge of treated and/or conditioned air, wherein air treatment/tempering means ( 60 ) are provided for treating and/or tempering the air entering through the air inlet device ( 20 ) in the housing ( 10 ), characterized in that
that the part of the housing ( 10 ) associated with the air outlet device ( 30 ) is delimited by a curved line or by a curved surface and
that the air outlet openings ( 300 ) are arranged distributed along the curved line or on the curved surface. 2. Air outlet device ( 30 ) according to claim 1, characterized in that the treated and/or conditioned air can be discharged in a substantially radial direction. 3. Air outlet device ( 30 ) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by a substantially radially symmetrical design or a substantially rotationally symmetrical design. 4. Air outlet device ( 30 ) according to claim 3, characterized by a substantially circular configuration or a substantially annular configuration or a substantially cylindrical configuration or a substantially conical configuration or a substantially cone-shaped configuration. 5. Air outlet device ( 30 ) according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that in the region of the air outlet device ( 30 ) at least one recess ( 310 ), preferably designed as a recess, is provided for deflecting the processed and/or conditioned air. 6. Air outlet device ( 30 ) according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the air outlet openings ( 300 ) are essentially slot-shaped. 7. Air outlet device ( 30 ) according to at least one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that at least some of the air outlet openings ( 300 ) are preceded by at least one nozzle ( 40 ), in particular an induction nozzle, arranged in the housing ( 10 ) for discharging fresh air. 8. Air outlet device ( 30 ) according to claim 7, characterized in that the nozzles ( 40 ) are arranged in the outer surface of a disk-shaped or ring-shaped nozzle box ( 50 ). 9. Air outlet device ( 30 ) according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the nozzles ( 40 ) are arranged in the outer surface of a cylindrical or hollow cylindrical nozzle box ( 50 ). 10. Air outlet device ( 30 ) according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the air outlet openings ( 300 ) and/or the nozzles ( 40 ) are arranged distributed at different heights of the curved surface. 11. Air conditioning device ( 100 ) comprising a housing ( 10 ) - with at least one air inlet device ( 20 ) and with at least one air outlet device ( 30 ) according to at least one of claims 1 to 10, - wherein air conditioning/tempering means ( 60 ) for conditioning and/or tempering the air entering through the air inlet device ( 20 ) - provided in the housing ( 10 ) and/or - connected to the housing ( 10 ) are. 12. Air conditioning device ( 100 ) according to claim 11, characterized in that the air inlet device ( 20 ) is arranged substantially centrally and/or substantially centrally on or in the housing ( 10 ). 13. Air conditioning device ( 100 ) according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the air conditioning/tempering means ( 60 ) are designed in several pieces or in several parts. 14. Air conditioning device ( 100 ) according to at least one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that at least one heat exchanger ( 60 ), preferably provided with at least one water connection ( 70 ), is provided as air conditioning/tempering means. 15. Air conditioning device ( 100 ) according to at least one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that air supply lines and shafts ( 80 ) are connected to the housing ( 10 ). 16. Air conditioning device ( 100 ) according to at least one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that at least one preferably conical air distribution device ( 90 ) is provided in the center of the housing ( 10 ). 17. Air conditioning device ( 100 ) according to at least one of claims 11 to 16, characterized by a preferably central and/or middle arrangement on or in the ceiling of a room.