U.S. patent application number 09/845505 was filed with the patent office on 2001-11-01 for hvac safety shutoff system.
Invention is credited to Collazo, Jonathan.
Application Number | 20010035462 09/845505 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26896207 |
Filed Date | 2001-11-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010035462 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Collazo, Jonathan |
November 1, 2001 |
HVAC safety shutoff system
Abstract
An emergency system is disclosed for venting smoke-filled air
outside of a building during a fire in which the air conditioning
and/or heating system forms part of the emergency system.
Inventors: |
Collazo, Jonathan; (Lake
Mary, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
RONALD B. SHERER
BARTLETT & SHERER
103 South Shaffer Drive
New Freedom
PA
17349
US
|
Family ID: |
26896207 |
Appl. No.: |
09/845505 |
Filed: |
April 30, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60200901 |
May 1, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
236/49.2 ;
340/628 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A62C 99/0063 20130101;
A62C 2/04 20130101; F24F 11/34 20180101; F24F 11/35 20180101; F24F
11/0001 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
236/49.2 ;
340/628 |
International
Class: |
F24F 007/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An emergency system for discharging smoke-filled air from a
building through an air conditioner and/or furnace unit including a
conventional return duct, a conventional discharge duct and a
blower comprising: (a) a smoke detector positioned in the path of
the smoke-filled air through the unit; (b) a first flow control
valve in said conventional discharge duct; (c) a vent duct having
one end connected to said unit and the opposite end communicating
with the atmosphere outside of the building; (d) a second flow
control valve in said vent duct; and (e) electrical control means
actuated by said smoke detector and connected to each of said flow
control valves for closing said first flow control valve and
opening said second flow control valve for preventing circulation
of the smoke-filled air in the building and venting the
smoke-filled air to atmosphere outside of the building.
2. The emergency system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said
first and second flow control valves comprises a damper.
3. The emergency system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said
first and second flow control valves comprises a plurality of
louvers.
4. The emergency system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said
first and second flow control valves is controlled by a motor.
5. The emergency system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said
first and second flow control valves is controlled by a
solenoid.
6. The emergency system of claim 1 wherein said electrical control
means include override switches for actuating said first and second
flow control valves.
7. The emergency system of claim 1 wherein said electrical control
means include solid state circuit means for actuating said first
and second flow control valves.
8. The emergency system of claim 1 wherein said unit is a central
air conditioner unit.
9. The emergency system of claim 1 wherein said unit is central
heating unit.
10. The emergency system of claim wherein said unit is a combined
central air conditioning and heating unit.
11. The emergency system of claim 1 wherein one of said first and
second flow control valves comprises a damper biased to the closed
position.
12. An emergency smoke shut off system for use with an air handler
having a blower and a normal discharge opening comprising: (a) a
housing of a size and shape to be mounted above the air handler;
(b) said housing including a first discharge opening for flowing
air during normal operation; and (c) said housing including a
second vent opening for venting smoke-filled air during a fire.
13. The shut off system of claim 12 wherein said first discharge
opening extends horizontally and said second vent opening extends
vertically.
14. The shut off system of claim 12 including first flow control
means for opening and closing said first discharge opening.
15. The shut off system of claim 12 including second flow control
means for opening and closing said second vent opening.
16. The shut off system of claim 14 including a smoke detector, and
actuator means connected to said smoke detector for closing said
first flow control means when smoke is detected by said smoke
detector.
17. The shut off system of claim 15 including a smoke detector, and
actuator means connected to said smoke detector for opening said
second flow control means when smoke is detected by said smoke
detector.
18. The shut off system of claim 16 wherein said first flow control
means comprise a plurality of louvers.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This Application relates to Provisional Application Ser. No.
60/200,901, filed May 1, 2000 which is hereby incorporated by
reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Each year many lives are lost in fires in homes and
commercial structures, not from contact with the fire or from the
heat, but due to inhalation of the smoke. Even when a person is
several or many rooms away from the room where the fire starts, the
smoke-filled air from the room with the initial fire flows to the
other rooms through the individual ducts forming the ventilation
system. Thus, the blower in the air conditioning unit actually
draws smoke-filled air into the unit and circulates it through the
ventilation ducts to all of the other rooms of the building.
SUMMARY
[0003] The present invention provides an emergency system for
discharging smoke-filled air to atmosphere outside of a building in
which the blower of the air conditioning and/or heating system is
used to discharge the smoke-filled air.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view in cross-section of a
conventional air conditioning unit with the emergency system of the
present invention; and
[0005] FIG. 2 is a schematic, fragmentary side view in
cross-section of a second embodiment of the emergency system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0006] As shown schematically in FIG. 1, a conventional central air
conditioning unit or "air handler" 10 includes a housing 12 which
encloses an evaporator 14 through which the air is pulled upwardly
by a blower 16 driven by a motor 18. The return air from the home
or commercial structure, hereinafter the building, enters unit 10
through a return duct 20 as shown by arrow A. The air flows
upwardly through the refrigeration unit 14, and normally flows
directly into the ventilation duct system 25 which supplies the
cooled air to the individual rooms of the building.
[0007] Such a conventional air conditioning system performs well
for the intended purpose of cooling a building. However, if there
is a fire, smoke-filled air is drawn in through return duct 20, and
the smoke-filled air is circulated to all of the rooms through the
individual ventilation ducts to each room. This multiples the
killing effect of the smoke by circulating the smoke from the first
room where the fire starts to all of the other rooms. In addition,
if the fire progresses to another room, the conventional air
conditioning system continues to circulate even more smoke to all
of the other rooms.
[0008] In the present invention, the smoke is not circulated to
other rooms, but rather, the smoke is immediately vented outside of
the building. This is accomplished by the provision of an emergency
smoke shut off unit 30 which is positioned above the conventional
air handler 10. Smoke shut off unit 30 includes a housing 31 having
an upper discharge opening 32 which connects to the ventilation
system 25. In addition to opening 32, through which the
refrigerated air flows during normal operation as shown by arrow B,
shut off unit 30 includes an emergency vent opening 34 connected to
an emergency vent duct 36 which extends to a position in
communication with the atmosphere outside of the building. The flow
of air through normal discharge opening 32 is controlled by, for
example, a set of louvers 32 or other flow control devices such as
dampers or the like. Similarly, the flow through vent opening 34 is
controlled by, for example, a set of louvers 40 or other flow
control devices such as dampers on the like. Louvers 38 are
actuated from their normally open position to their closed position
by a motor or solenoid 42, and louvers 40 are moved from their
normally closed position to their open, vent position by a motor or
solenoid 44.
[0009] The emergency shut off system further includes a smoke
detector 46 which may be physically positioned within housing 12 as
shown, or within return duct 20, or elsewhere in the path of the
smoke. Detector 46 is operatively connected to a pair of override
switches 48A, 48B which actuate motors or solenoids 42 and 44.
[0010] The present invention operates as follows. During normal
conditions, louvers 38 are in their open position such that
refrigerated air shown by dotted arrow B is discharged from air
handler 10 into the ventilation system of the building to cool the
multiple rooms of the building. In this normal mode, louvers 40 are
closed. However, whenever smoke is sensed by detector 46, override
switches 48A and 48B reverse the positions of louvers 38 and 40 so
that the discharge of smoke-filled air is prevented from being
recirculated through the ventilation system to the multiple rooms
of the building. Instead, the smoke-filled air is discharged to
atmosphere outside of the building through vent duct 36 thereby
removing the smoke instead of spreading it to all of the other
rooms.
[0011] From the foregoing description of one preferred embodiment
of the invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art of
heating/cooling that the invention is not limited to air
conditioning units, but rather, unit 10 may be a furnace, or a
combination of furnace and air conditioning unit. Also, it will be
apparent that the form of flow control valves may be of various
structural forms. For example as shown in FIG. 2, they may comprise
simple dampers 38' and 40' which may be opened and closed by
actuators 42' and 44'. It will also be apparent that the louvers or
dampers in the vent duct may be biased to their closed position by
weights or springs so as to be opened by air pressure when louvers
38 or damper 38' is closed. In this manner, motor or solenoid 44,
44' may be eliminated, and it will be understood that switches 48A,
48B may comprise solid state elements in a solid state control
system. It will also be noted that while the emergency shut off
system may be manufactured to mount upon existing A.C. and heating
systems as shown in FIG. 1, new A.C./Heating systems may include
the shut off system as an integral unit as shown in FIG. 2
[0012] These and many other variations and modifications of the
invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.
Accordingly it is to be understood that the foregoing description
of the principles of the invention is intended to be illustrative
and not exhaustive of the invention, and that the invention is not
intended to be limited other than as expressly set forth in the
following claims.
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