GB2029004A - Ventilated roof - Google Patents

Abstract

A ventilated roof (eg for an intensive pig unit) comprises a framework (30) suspended from the roof (6) or from an inner ceiling (7) running parallel to the roof (6) to form a duct (11) also running parallel to the roof (6), the duct (11) having an inlet (31) for the intake of air and a longitudinal slot (33) opening downwardly with respect to the roof (6) to allow escape of air downwardly from the duct (11). As shown, incoming air in duct (11) is heated by outgoing air in space (24). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Ventilated roof This invention relates to a ventilated roof.

The ventilated roof forming the subject of the present invention is particularly suitable for use with live stock, under intensive conditions, and in particular for use in intensive pig units in which there are often considerable problems of insuring that correct airflow patterns are achieved.

In one form of intensive pig units, a number of pigs is housed in pens in a suitable building. The pens am situated on either side of a feeding passage in such a way that each pig or group of pigs is housed substantially in its own individual environment by the use of partitions. Ventilation units are provided in the outside wall of each pen, and air is drawn through this ventilation unit by means of fans situated in the roof ridges of the building or by convection so that air passed up the inside of the sloping, roof, and out over a continuous baffle board over the feeding passage.

The invention seeks to provide a means for controlling air passing immediately over the livestock.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a ventilated roof wherein a framework is suspended from the roof to form a duct extending parallel with the roof, the duct having an inlet for intake of air and a longitudinal slot opening downwardly with respect to the roof to allow escape of air downwardly from the duct.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a ventilated roof comprising an inner ceiling element wherein a framework is suspended from the inner ceiling to form a duct extending along the inner ceiling element, the duct having an inlet for intake of air and a longitudinal slot opening downwardly with respect to the inner ceiling to allow escape of air downwardly from the duct.

The longitudinal slot may extend substantially the length of the duct.

Preferably a baffle board is provided in the duct suitably at or towards the end thereof away from the air inlet, so as to ensure spillage of the air from the duct.

The region above the inner ceiling element may comprise a channel for exhaust of air from the building. With a suitable material for the inner ceiling, heat exchange may take place between the air in the channel and the air in the duct.

A ventilation unit may be provided in the wall of the building for guiding intake air from outside the building into the air inlet of the duct. This ventilation unit may comprise a horizontally pivoted flap in an aperture in the building wall and situated below the duct inlet, the flap being movable between a first position in which it closes the aperture or provides for minimum airflow therethrough and a second position in which it allows a maximum airflow through the aperture, the flap having intermediate positions in which it directs variable amounts of airflow into the duct.

Further ducts may be provided outside the building and prior to the said intake so as to increase the heat exchange effect.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view of a form of ventilated roof in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a sectional view of the ventilated roof of Figure 1 showing its installation in a building and its relationship to its air intake; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the use of an additional flap mechanism for further control of the airflow; Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the arrangement of ducts to provide for heat exchange between intake and exhaust air, and Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line V-V of Figure 4.

Referring first to the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a building part having an outer wall 5 and a roof 6 of sloping ridge type construction. As can be seen, the building is provided with an inner ceiling element 7 which extends parallel to but spaced from the roof 6. Suspended from this inner ceiling element is a framework 30 shown in exploded view in Figure 1, which provides a duct 11 with an inlet 31 for ducting of intake air from a ventilation unit 8 away from the roof and allows the major part of this air to travel upwards to the end of the duct 11.

As can be seen, the framework comprises upper members 1 which are attached to the inner ceiling element 7 and carry a plurality of lower members 2 which are arranged to provide a longitudinal slot 33 forthe outflow of air therebetween, thus forming a longitudinal air output. The effect of this slot 33 can be seen from the arrows 12, 13 and 14 in Figure 2 which represents the air flow from the duct 11.

At the upper end of the framework there is provided a baffle plate 4 which ensures that the air arriving at the end of the duct does not pass up to the roof but is deflected downwards into the building. Thus the members 3 and 4 may extend the full width of each pen or the entire length of the building, the members 1, 2 being assembled such that slots 33 exist between the lower members 2 either at spaced points throughout the building or substantially along the length of the duct. A suitable ratio of the width of the member 2 to its adjacent gap is approximately 3:2. The material used for construction of the framework may be of timber, timber based products or any suitable alternative material.

The arrow 10 in Figure 2 indicates the flow of air from the exterior through the ventilation unit 8 mounted in a suitable aperture in the wall 5.

This ventilation unit is suitably of the type shown in our co-pending Application No.

30067/75 and thus comprises a horizontally pivoted flap in an aperture in the building wall and situated below the duct inlet, the flap being movable between a first position in which it closes the aperture or provides for minimum airflow therethrough and a second position in which it allows a maximum air flow through the aperture, the flap having intermediate positions in which it directs variable amounts of airflow into the duct.

A wind baffle 9 may be provided on the exterior of the building. Incoming air can pass under and/or over the baffle 9 and through the ventilation unit 8 while being deflected upwards thereby. The air, which rises above the rear member 3 is then, to a large extent, trapped in the duct 11. Since the incoming air is generally cooler than the air already existing within the building, there is a tendency for the air to drop from its position within the duct 11 and a flow out of the duct 11 is indicated by the arrows 12, 1 3 and 14. Any air reaching the front member 4 of the duct will also be deflected downwards.

Where the invention is being used with a livestock unit, warm air will rise from the livestock and will mix with the air coming from the duct 11.

Figure 3 shows a provision of an additional flap 1 6 which is suspended from the inner ceiling element 7 to further control the flow of air proceeding from the end of the duct 11. This flap may be preset in a fixed position and may be adjusted to give various air deflections as required by the circumstances.

While the construction of ventilated roof described so far can be successfully used on its own, further advantage may be achieved if the area above the inner ceiling element is used for the outflow of exhaust air from the building and the inner ceiling element 7 is made of a suitable heat conducting material. In this way, heating up of the intake air can be achieved, providing a better temperature for the intake air and thus reducing the problems of draughts and the necessity of ensuring a mixture of the incoming air with the air already within the building.

One such arrangement is shown in Figure 4.

Here the arrangement can be seen to be very similar to that in Figure 3, when combined with Figure 2, the baffle 9 being replaced by an inlet duct 21 extending across the longitudinal wall 22 of the building so as to have air intakes (not shown) at each end and the provision of an air outlet duct 23 extending on the outer side of the inlet duct 21 and in communication with the space 24 between the inner ceiling element 7 and the roof 6. Where desired inlet to the duct 21 can be achieved by providing intake passages extending through the outlet duct 23.

Figure 5 shows a suitable arrangement of the suspension of the inner ceiling element 7 and the duct arrangement 11 from the roof 6. Here it will be seen that the elements 1 forming the sides of the ducts 11 form effectively extensions of the elements 25 which suspend the ceiling elements 7 from the roof 6. In this way, also, the inlet and outlet ducts are in register for maximum heat exchange.

In order to promote.suitable circulation, air blowers (not shown) may be used at suitable points and they may be used to increase either the input or the output of air. Suitably, for inlet purposes, they may be located in passages connecting the inlet duct to atmosphere and passing through the outlet duct.

Where the temperature of the incoming air is suitably warm, for example, in summer, the heat exchange provision can be by-passed and the outlet air exhausting directly from the building for example through openable flaps positioned in the region of the roof ridge. Automatic control of these flaps may be provided in dependence on the temperature of the incoming air, the exterior ambient temperature and/or the interior temperature.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made to the above described embodiments, without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the end baffle 4 may be omitted and the air may be solely deflected by means of the suspended flap 1 6 or other suitable deflecting arrangements. It is to be appreciated that the control provided by the duct arrangement beneath the inner ceiling element may be used on its own as shown in Figures 1, 2 or 3 and in combination with the heat exchange arrangement as shown in Figures 4 and 5. Also other types of intake ventilation device may be used, for example hopper type window or a ventilation unit pivotal about some other axis may be used. Alternatively the air inlet to the duct may be provided directly in the building wall, the inlet then being preferably provided with some form of control.

It is also to be understood that while the duct has been shown as extending parallel to the roof, it may in fact extend horizontally, even with a roof of ridge construction, or may extend at the angle relative to the roof.

While it has been the intention that the invention be used mainly for intensive pig units, it is to be understood that the ventilated roof may be used for other designs whether for housing livestock or not. Because of its construction, the ventilated roof system could be used either as an original installation when putting up a new building or could be used to increase the effectiveness of existing buildings.

Claims (12)

1. A ventilated roof wherein a framework is suspended from the roof to form a duct extending parallel with the roof, the duct having an in let for intake of air and a longitudinal slot opening downwardly with respect to the roof to allow escape of air downwardly from the duct.

2. A ventilated roof comprising an inner ceiling element wherein a framework is suspended from the inner ceiling to form a duct extending along the inner ceiling element, the duct having an inlet for intake of air.and a longitudinal slot opening downwardly with respect to the inner ceiling to allow escape of air downwardly from the duct.

3. A ventilated roof as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the longitudinal slot extends substantially the length of the duct.

4. A ventilated roof as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein a baffle board is provided in the duct to ensure spillage of air from the duct.

5. A ventilated roof as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the baffle board is provided at or towards the end of the duct away from its air inlet.

6. A ventilated roof as claimed in Claim 2 or any Claim appendant directly or indirectly thereto wherein the region between the inner ceiling and the roof comprises a channel for exhaust of air from the building.

7. A ventilated roof as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the material of the inner ceiling is such as to allow heat exchange between the air in the channel and the air in the duct.

8. A ventilated roof as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein a ventilation unit is provided in the wall of the building for guiding intake air from outside the building into the air inlet of the duct.

9. A ventilated roof as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the ventilation unit comprises a horizontally pivoted flap in an aperture in the building wall and situated below the duct-inlet, the flap being movable between a first position in which it closes the aperture or provides for minimum airflow therethrough and a second position in which it allows a maximum airflow through the aperture, the flaps having intermediate positions in which it directs variable amounts of airflow into the duct.

10. A ventilated roof as claimed in Claim 7, wherein additional heat exchange ducts are provided on the outside of the building.

11. A ventilated roof as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 10, wherein a pivotable flap is suspended below the end of the duct away from its inlet for further control of air flowing out of the duct.

12. A ventilated roof substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.