DE20307536U1 - Safety drive system for air extraction system e.g. of living room, includes switching device for interrupting voltage supply - Google Patents

Abstract

An arrangement for the safe operation of an air extraction system (66) for extracting air from a room, has a control element (60) and a switching device (61) for switching a voltage supply (65;67) for the extraction system (66).The switching device is used to interrupt the voltage supply (65;67) for the extraction system (66) when a control signal is received and with reception of another control signal the voltage supply for the extraction system is closed. The switching device and a coupling for connecting a voltage supply line (65) are arranged in a sealable housing (70).

Description

Arrangement for the safe operation of an exhaust air system

The invention relates to an arrangement for the safe operation of an exhaust air system for removing air from a room, in particular an extractor hood, an exhaust air dryer, a gas stove or the like, with a control element and a switching device for switching a voltage supply for the exhaust air system, wherein the control element can be coupled to a supply air system in order to transmit a control signal to the switching device when the supply air system is closed and another control signal when the supply air system is open, so that with the aid of the switching device the voltage supply for the exhaust air system is interrupted when the control signal is received and

Meinekestrasse 26 · D-I0719 Berlin · Telephone+49-30-31505150 · Fax+49-30-31505151

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When the other control signal is received, the voltage supply for the exhaust air system is closed.

The exhaust air system for removing air from a room can in particular be an extractor hood, an exhaust air dryer, a gas boiler, an exhaust air fan, an extraction system or a central vacuum cleaner system.

Such an exhaust air system is known from the publication DE 100 28 333 and is used in conjunction with exhaust air systems in rooms with access to a fireplace, for example an open fireplace, a tiled stove, a charcoal stove, an oil stove, a gas boiler or the like. With the help of the exhaust air system, air is transported from the room to the outside. The safety circuit arrangement is used to control the voltage supply of the exhaust air system. Since carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are produced in rooms with a fireplace when the fuel is burned, transporting air from the inside of the room to the outside using the exhaust air system can lead to dangerous situations for people in the room. With the help of the known safety circuit arrangement, it is ensured that the exhaust air system can only be operated if a supply of fresh air is guaranteed via a supply air system. The supply air system can be, for example, a supply air flap or a window.

The known safety circuit arrangement comprises a control element with a radio transmitter. When the supply air system is closed, the radio transmitter generates a first control signal. The first control signal is sent to a receiver that is coupled to a switching device. Based on the first control signal, the switching device interrupts a voltage supply to the exhaust air system, so that it is not possible to operate the exhaust air system when the supply air system is closed. When the supply air system is opened, the radio transmitter generates a second control signal, which is then sent to the radio receiver. The radio receiver evaluates the second control signal and causes the voltage supply to the exhaust air system to be closed using the switching device, so that the exhaust air system can be operated when the supply air system is open.

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An open supply air system in living spaces means that air can flow in from outside. Residents of the building find this unpleasant in winter, for example, because cold air flows in from outside. As a result, cases have arisen in which the safety circuit arrangement has been manipulated in order to be able to operate the exhaust air system even when the supply air system is closed. However, this leads to an increased safety risk.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement for the safe operation of an exhaust air system of the type mentioned at the outset, in which the probability of undesired manipulation of the arrangement and the associated misuse of the exhaust air system are prevented.

This object is achieved according to the invention in an arrangement according to the preamble of claim 1 in that the switching device and a coupling for connecting a voltage supply line of the exhaust air system and a supply line are arranged in a lockable housing. In this way, the voltage supply line, which serves to connect the exhaust air system to an electrical power supply, is prevented from being decoupled from the switching device, which would mean that the exhaust air system could be operated without controlling the power supply depending on the opening state of the supply air system, which leads to a safety risk. The lockable housing prevents such manipulation and thus improves the safety standard. In addition, the housing makes the arrangement suitable for damp rooms.

In an advantageous development of the invention, it can be provided that the coupling is a plug-in coupling. This facilitates the coupling and permitted decoupling of the voltage supply line to/from the supply line. The decoupling is necessary, for example, when replacing the switching device and/or the exhaust air system.

An expedient embodiment of the invention can provide that the lockable housing has an opening flap for closing/opening the housing, whereby

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the insertion/removal of the coupling and/or the switching device into/out of the housing can be carried out with little effort.

The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments with reference to a drawing.

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram to explain a safety

circuit arrangement;

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a switching device,

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of a control element with a receiver device, wherein the

Control element is arranged in a sub-short socket;

Figure 4 shows a further embodiment of a switching device with a receiver

direction, wherein the switching device is coupled to a voltage supply line; and

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram to explain a safety circuit

arrangement, wherein the switching device is arranged in a housing.

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation to explain a safety circuit arrangement for an electrically operated exhaust air system, for example an extractor hood, an exhaust air dryer, a gas boiler or the like. A control element 1 comprises a contact device 2 and a transmitter device 3. The contact device 2 is coupled to an air supply system 4 with which air can be supplied to a room. In the simplest case, this is an opening in a wall surrounding the room or in a roof that can be closed with a flap.

The contact device 2 can be, for example, a reed contact or a mechanical button. The contact device 2 can have at least two switching states. The contact device 2 is in a first switching state when the supply air system 4 is open. The supply air system 4 is, for example, a window or a supply air flap. In principle, the supply air system can be any device

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which can be opened and closed to transport fresh air into a room or to interrupt the flow of fresh air. The transmitter device 3 detects from the switching state of the contact device 2 whether the fresh air system 4 is open or closed. If the fresh air system 4 is open, the transmitter device 3 generates a first control signal and transmits this to a receiver device 5 arranged spatially separate from the transmitter device 3. A second control signal is transmitted from the transmitter device 3 to the receiver device 5 if the transmitter device 3 detects from the switching state of the contact device 2 that the fresh air system 4 is closed.

Depending on whether the receiver device 5 receives the first or second control signal, the closing or opening of a closing/interrupting element 6 is initiated. The closing/interrupting element 6 is coupled to a voltage supply line 7 of an exhaust air system (not shown). By closing or opening the voltage supply line 7 with the aid of the closing/interrupting element 6, electrical operation of the exhaust air system is enabled or prevented.

To transmit the first and second control signals, a communication connection 8 is formed between the transmitter device 3 and the receiver device 5. This can be a cable signal connection or a radio connection. If the first and second control signals are transmitted using radio signals, the transmitter device 3 is a radio transmitter and the receiver device 5 is a radio receiver. The communication between the radio transmitter and the radio receiver takes place in an approved VHF range, for example 433 MHz.

According to Figure 1, a further communication connection 21 is formed between the receiver device 5 and a further transmitter device 20. The further transmitter device 20 is surrounded by a further control element 22 and coupled to a further contact device 23. The further contact device 23 is connected to a further supply air system 24, so that depending on an open or a closed state of the further supply air system 24, a further first or a further second control signal

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ν of the further transmitter device 20 can be transmitted to the receiver device 5. When the control signals are transmitted by radio, different frequency ranges are used for the communication connection 8 and the further communication connection 21, so that a distinction can be made between the first, the second, the further first and the further second control signal.

The control element 1 and the further control element 22 are each connected to a power supply 9 or 25. The power supply 9 or 25 is preferably a battery, which can be conveniently recharged using solar energy. In order to avoid an error when the battery power is low, such that the receiver device 5 has received the second or the further second control signal as the last control signal, even though the supply air system 4 and/or the further supply air system 24 are closed, the first and the further first control signals always have a lower signal strength than the second and the further second control signals, so that when the battery power is low, the second and/or the further second control signals are still received, while the signal strength of the first and the further first control signals is no longer sufficient to be received. It is assumed here that the signal strength of the control signals sent depends on the available battery power.

According to Figure 1, the receiver device 5 is connected to a voltage source 10. This can preferably be a connection to a landline network.

Figure 2 shows a schematic embodiment of a control element. A control element 30 has a battery 31 for supplying power to a radio transmitter 32. The radio transmitter 32 is connected to a reed contact 33. A magnet 34 is arranged adjacent to the reed contact 33. Depending on the switching state of the reed contact 33, the radio transmitter 32 generates the control signals described in connection with Figure 1, which are transmitted to a receiver in order to close or open the power supply of an exhaust air system. The switching state of the reed contact 33 depends on whether the supply air system to be monitored (not shown in Figure 2) is open or closed.

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In order to prevent unauthorized changes to the switching device for opening or closing the voltage supply of the exhaust air system, the embodiment shown in Figure 3 provides that a switching device 40 with a closing/breaking element 41 and a receiver 42 are arranged in a flush-mounted socket 43. With the help of the closing/breaking contact 41, the voltage that can be tapped via the flush-mounted socket 43 to supply energy to the exhaust air system is made available or its tapping is prevented. The receiver 42 receives control signals from the transmitter device on the supply air system (not shown in Figure 3) and controls the closing/breaking contact 41 depending on the control signals received.

In another embodiment, according to Figure 4, a switching device 50 with a make/break contact 51 and a receiver 52 is coupled between a voltage supply line 53. The voltage supply line 53 has a plug 55 at one end 54 that can be plugged into a landline socket. The other end 56 of the voltage supply line 53 is connected to a device connection of the exhaust air system (not shown in Figure 4). Depending on the control signals received, the receiver 52 causes the electrical connection between one and the other end 54 or 56 of the voltage supply line 53 to be opened or closed, so that electrical operation of the exhaust air system is enabled or prevented.

Figure 5 shows a schematic representation to explain a safety circuit arrangement in which a control element 60 interacts with a switching device 61. The control element 60 is coupled to a supply air system 62 in order to detect an open/closed state of the supply air system 62. The control element 60 comprises, for example, sensors (not shown in Figure 5) with which it can be detected whether a window or any supply air device is open or closed. For example, a reed contact or a mechanical contact can be provided. Depending on the automatically detected state of the supply air system 62, a transmitting device 63 generated by the control element 60 generates a control signal which is transmitted to a receiving device 64 via a cable or radio connection. The receiving device 64 is coupled to the switching device 61 or can also be integrated into it. If the signal transmitted by the control element 60 to the

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If the control signal transmitted by the receiving device 64 indicates that the supply air system 60 is open, the switching device 61 closes the electrical connection between a voltage supply line 65 of an exhaust air system 66 and a supply line 67 which is connected to a voltage source 68, for example a socket of a house supply system. According to Figure 5, the voltage supply line 65 is electrically coupled to the supply line 67 via a plug-in coupling 69, so that electrical energy tapped from the voltage source 68 can be transmitted to the exhaust air system 66 via the supply line 67, the plug-in coupling 69 and the voltage supply line 65, so that the exhaust air system 66 can be operated.

The power supply is only possible if the switching device 61 allows the power line to the plug-in coupling 69. If the control element 60 transmits another control signal which indicates that the supply air system 62 is closed, the power line is interrupted with the aid of the switching device 61, which means that the exhaust air system 66 is not supplied with electrical power. According to Figure 5, the switching device 61 with the coupled receiving device 64 and the plug-in coupling 69 are arranged in a housing 70 which can be closed with the aid of an opening flap 71. The opening flap 71 can be sealed. This makes it possible, on the one hand, to insert an end 72 of the voltage supply line 65 into the housing 70 to form the plug-in coupling 69. The housing 70 can then be closed to prevent the voltage supply line 65 from being separated from the plug-in coupling 69, so that the exhaust air system 66 can only be used in conjunction with the control element 60 and the switching device 61. In the housing 69, the end 71 of the voltage supply line 65 can also be connected to the supply line 67 by means of any other electrical coupling, for example via clamp contacts. The housing 70 prevents the voltage supply line 65 from being separated from the switched supply line 67 without permission.

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The opening flap 71 can, on the other hand, be used to remove the end 72 of the voltage supply line 65 from the housing 70, for example in the case of replacing the exhaust air system 66 and/or the switching device 61 with coupled receiving device 64.

The switching device 61 is coupled to a contact component 80 in such a way that the power line to the plug-in coupling 69 is only possible if the contact component 80 determines that the opening flap 71 is in the closed position. The automatic detection of the state of the opening flap 71 achieved in this way is an additional measure to ensure that a voltage supply via the plug-in coupling 69 can only take place when the opening flap 71 is closed. However, the provision of the housing 70 with the opening flap 71 alone already means that an undesirable separation of the plug-in coupling 69 can be prevented. This measure in itself improves the safety standard when operating the exhaust air system 66 with the aid of a safety circuit arrangement as described in connection with Figure 5.

The locking of the opening flap 71 in the closed position can be carried out using suitable means. In an advantageous embodiment, it can be provided that a screw is screwed in to lock the opening flap 71. A special screw can be used as the screw, which can only be turned in one direction or with the help of special keys.

It can also be provided that contact component 80 is designed as a switch which is actuated into the closed position by an approach of opening flap 71 without the additional use of a locking means. For example, an optical, a magnetic switch or a reed contact could be used. However, a button can also be used in which a button lever is actuated when opening flap 71 is brought into the closed position.

The features of the invention disclosed in the above description, the claims and the drawings can be used both individually and in any combination for the

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realization of the invention in its various embodiments.

Claims (4)

1. Arrangement for the safe operation of an exhaust air system ( 66 ) for removing air from a room, in particular an extractor hood, an exhaust air dryer, a gas stove or the like, with a control element ( 60 ) and a switching device ( 61 ) for switching a voltage supply ( 65 ; 67 ) for the exhaust air system ( 66 ), wherein the control element ( 60 ) can be coupled to an air supply system ( 62 ) in order to transmit a control signal to the switching device ( 61) when the air supply system (62 ) is closed and another control signal when the air supply system ( 62 ) is open, so that with the aid of the switching device ( 61 ) the voltage supply ( 65 ; 67 ) for the exhaust air system ( 66 ) is interrupted when the control signal is received and the voltage supply ( 65 ; 67 ) for the exhaust system ( 66 ), characterized in that the switching device ( 61 ) and a coupling ( 69 ) for connecting a voltage supply line ( 65 ) of the exhaust system ( 66 ) and a supply line ( 67 ) are arranged in a lockable housing ( 70 ). 2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the coupling is a plug-in coupling ( 69 ). 3. Arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lockable housing ( 70 ) has an opening flap ( 71 ) for closing/opening the housing ( 70 ). 4. Arrangement according to claim 3, characterized by a contact component ( 80 ) for detecting a closed position of the opening flap ( 71 ).