U.S. patent application number 11/069453 was filed with the patent office on 2006-09-21 for personalized air conditioning displacement ventilation system.
Invention is credited to Pete Betz, Hans F. Levy.
Application Number | 20060211361 11/069453 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37011001 |
Filed Date | 2006-09-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060211361 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Levy; Hans F. ; et
al. |
September 21, 2006 |
Personalized air conditioning displacement ventilation system
Abstract
A displacement ventilation system is located above a floor
having an air plenum below the floor but above the concrete slab. A
displacement ventilation workstation structure is located above the
floor and thereby above the air plenum. An air fan is located below
the floor and delivers air into flexible air ducts and from there
into rigid upstanding air ducts. From there the conditioned air is
delivered into rigid upstanding air ducts structure that is located
under a workstation surface and has a front outlet that is
controllable by a person sitting at the workstation. The upstanding
duct has a lateral air opening or outlet which is opposite the
direction of where air is delivered to the duct structure under the
surface of the workstation. The outlet opening supplies the
majority of conditioned air and is thereby delivered into the
atmosphere of the work space at a very low velocity and at a point
which is below the work surface of the workstation. This system
does not create any uncomfortable air streams and air
turbulences.
Inventors: |
Levy; Hans F.; (Naples,
FL) ; Betz; Pete; (Naples, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Hans F. Levy
7425 Pelican Bay Blvd. #2101
Naples
FL
34108
US
|
Family ID: |
37011001 |
Appl. No.: |
11/069453 |
Filed: |
March 2, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
454/185 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 2007/004 20130101;
F24F 13/06 20130101; F24F 2221/38 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
454/185 |
International
Class: |
F24F 7/00 20060101
F24F007/00 |
Claims
1. A displacement air ventilation system in a workstation, said
system is installed on a floor having an air plenum below said
floor but above a concrete slab, a supply of air located in said
plenum is moving air into a flexible air duct, said workstation is
located above said floor and has an upstanding duct, receiving said
conditioned air from said flexible duct, said workstation having a
horizontal work surface, a duct located under said work surface and
receiving said conditioned air from said upstanding duct, said duct
having a frontal air outlet, said upstanding duct having an air
opening in an outer panel of said upstanding duct, the majority of
air in said upstanding duct is being supplied through said air
outlet into the ambient atmosphere surrounding said workstation,
said air outlet is located below said surface of said workstation
surface.
2. The displacement ventilation system of claim 1, wherein said
workstation includes a back panel and a side panel.
3. The displacement ventilation system of claim 1, wherein there
are three air streams within said system, a first one emanating
from said air fan located below said floor, a second one operating
within said hollow wall and said duct under said workstation
surface and a third one releasing a majority of the air through
said opening in said outer panel.
4. The displacement ventilation system of claim 1, wherein said
system is a unitary duct assembly including said upstanding duct,
said opening in said duct may be any size and location in an
elevated position above said floor.
5. The displacement ventilation system of claim 1, wherein said
supply of air is moving air to one or more of said workstations.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention at hand relates to either heating or cooling
the air in a large building, especially with a floor area having
multiple persons working therein. The invention is directed
primarily to the personal comfort of a person working at a
workstation including a desk by directing conditioned air to the
immediate vicinity of the person or persons present at those
workstations and by giving those persons control over the flow and
direction of the conditioned air, and to providing displacement
ventilation to the surrounding area.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In the field of heating and cooling, generally known as "air
conditioning", there are known problems causing discomfort to the
occupants in the building or a room. Inefficiencies in the system
result in excessive operating costs in the operation of the
building and problems in the operation and control of the present
systems. Also present systems tend to have poor indoor air quality
(IAQ).
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 374,424 discloses a system for supplying fresh
air to the environment of an auditorium and wherein the air blows
directly to the chair which is occupied by a person without any
mechanical intervention or modification.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 1,194,527 shows the ventilation of a class
room wherein the outside air under pressure enters the class room
through a ventilated floor panel and is further distributed into a
desk where the pupil is sitting. The pupil may have some control
over the amount of air flowing to or through the desk. In both of
the above cited patents, the air is not conditioned or modified as
to heat or cold.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 2,140,829 describes an air conditioning system
wherein there is a cooling of high ceiling rooms by providing a
stratum of cooled and dehumidified air in the lower levels of the
room up to the height of the occupants without considering the
relatively large cost and the complications of treating all the air
in the room.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 2,341,125 illustrates a way of ventilating a
desk at a workstation by simply mounting a fan within the rear of
the desk and by blowing air at the person and by giving the person
working at the desk somewhat of a control of the fan by positioning
the same or by controlling the speed of the air flow.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 2,507,643 teaches the ventilation of
restaurant equipment by supplying air to and from restaurant table
and their equipment. The person or persons seated at the equipment
have no control over the flow and/or the direction of the flow of
the air.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 2,572,120 shows a ventilated table having a
fan mounted in a horizontal position which is emitting air in
horizontal direction and the air flow out of the lateral sides of
the table.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 2,616,617 illustrates a ventilated table
similarly constructed as the table shown in the immediately cited
patent above.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 2,734,990 discloses a desk as a workstation
having a combination fan and heater mounted therein. The fan blows
the conditioned air (heat) directly at the person sitting at the
desk. The direction of the air is adjustable by tilting the fan in
one direction or the other and the level of the heat is adjustable
by way of a rheostat.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 2,835,186 discloses an air conditioning system
wherein there are upstanding air emitting columns receiving air
through ducts in the floor of the system. It is considered to be a
local or spot air conditioning system.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 2,877,990 discloses a novel building structure
embodying a multi-cellular load supporting floor having an air
distributing and an electrical wiring system therein wherein both
the heated and cooled air and the electrical wiring are distributed
through selected ones of the cells in the floor.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 3,322,055 teaches the elimination of duct work
in a building by adding fan driven diffusers in the ceiling whereby
the air in the chamber in the ceiling may be used as an
unpressurized distribution chamber.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,347 shows the use of a double plenum air
conditioning system which creates a space between a structural and
the floor of the roof above the building and the double plenum is
divided by a horizontal partition into an upper part and a lower
plenum and a supply of air is fed to one of the plenums and return
air is withdrawn form the other of the plenums. The supply of air
can be hot, cold or neutral. Inlets and outlets connect the plenums
through the slab to the room below or through the floor to the room
above.
[0015] U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,018 discloses a system whereby
conditioned air is distributed through a floor plenum to a multiple
of chairs having exhaust connected to each of the chairs to expel
the conditioned air into the general environment of the room. The
occupants of the chairs have no control over the speed and the
direction of the air flowing to the chairs.
[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,440 illustrates an air conditioning
system both ceiling and floor plenums and each of the plenums has
individual air outlets diffusing into the room between the plenums.
In addition, there are individual elongated air outlets tubes
suspended from the ceiling plenum or upstanding from the floor
plenum. Each of the outlet tubes can be directed against a person
sitting at a workstation. The respective person has control over
the direction of the or emanating from the outlets.
[0017] U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,727 shows an open space office system
including a plurality of freestanding workstations which are
constructed of vertical panels and are removably mounted to an
upper board member to direct cooling air to a user of the
organization permitting its use in a convenient manner in various
environments.
[0018] Another known prior art air conditioned workstation is known
under the word "CLIMADESK". It is described as a plenum which is
installed under the top of the desk. The air plenum has an inlet to
receive conditioned air from an air conditioning unit being placed
apart but adjacent to the desk. The air conditioning unit receives
fresh air from the outside of the building through an air intake
vent. The air plenum installed under the top surface of the desk
directs conditioned air toward a person sitting at the desk. The
conditioned air is exiting toward the person by way of two front
louvers and is further directed upwardly from the top surface of
the desk in front of the person sitting at the desk. The
temperature of the conditioned air can be controlled by way of a
thermostat located on a front panel of the desk. This kind of an
arrangement greatly reduces the mobility of such a workstation and
thereby eliminates an effective arrangement of all of the
workstations in an open office concept.
[0019] German published specification (Offenlegungsschrift) No. 24
07 448 discloses a workstation in the form of a desk receiving
conditioned air by way of a flexible hose through the floor having
air ducts therein. The occupant at the desk has no control over the
flow of the air with regard to direction and/or speed.
[0020] German published specification (Offenlegungsschrift) No. 27
19 570 discloses a similar system as was disclosed in the German
publication above. In this arrangement, conditioned air is supplied
by way of ducts located below the floor of the open office area.
From there the conditioned air is funneled to upstanding tubes
located at each of the workstations. The conditioned air is blown
into the room at a location above the desk surface at each of the
workstations. The occupant at the desk has some control over the
direction and the speed of the air flowing through the outlets of
the upstanding tubes.
[0021] German published application (Offenlegungsschrift) No. 29 38
702 is similar to both German publications discussed above and does
not add any more knowledge to the already known prior art.
[0022] Japanese Patent No. 61-11535 discloses an air conditioning
system having a floor plenum installed over a floor slab of a
building. The conditioned air is driven by a fan into a hollow
partition situated over an opening in the floor. Conditioned air
may exit into the room at a higher elevation than the height of the
desk. At the bottom of the floor whereupon the desk is placed,
there is a further air outlet which is directing conditioned air to
the feet of a person sitting at the desk. It appears that the
person has very little control over the volume, speed and direction
of the conditioned air entering the vicinity of the desk.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0023] An object of the invention is to present a system for
distributing conditioned air throughout an open office layout in a
most efficient way. In a building whether large or small, for
example, the control of temperature, air flow, humidity and the
like, or even individual rooms and workstations leaves many persons
in the building or within a room or in the vicinity of a
workstation uncomfortable or dissatisfied with the condition of
their particular environment. Different people have different
levels of metabolism and therefore different comfort needs.
[0024] Also, different locations in a building or on a floor, or
even a single room or closer yet in the vicinity of a workstation,
are not satisfactorily heated or cooled, that is, air conditioned,
and give rise to complaints about discomfort and illness, resulting
in absenteeism, sickness and, of course, loss of productivity.
[0025] Further, conventional air conditioning systems generally
require expensive duct work and installations, usually in floors or
ceilings or both, which cause unnecessary heating or cooling of
unused space, particularly the spaces that between the room
dividers or partitions there is no means for providing the
workstation occupant with an acceptable flow of conditioned air.
Therefore, the workers often become uncomfortable, or even ill,
which in turn decreases productivity and/or causes absenteeism.
[0026] Consequently, in the field of heating and cooling there
exists a need for providing a flow of conditioned air directly to
or near a person sitting at a workstation, without blowing at the
person and without creating a draft, as well as to occupants of the
surrounding area. More particularly, there exists a need for a
workstation to be so equipped wherein the occupant can individually
control and obtain the amount of conditioned air supplied within
the workstation while maintaining a desirable flow of conditioned
air to surrounding areas. The amount of conditioned air within the
workstation is controlled by the person to maximize the comfort
level, well being health and level of productivity of each worker,
while maintaining a desirable flow of conditioned air to
surrounding areas.
[0027] Conventional room dividers for workstations may supply
conditioned air to workstations, which conditioned air flows
through an air flow grille at about the height where the worker is
seated but the worker has very little control over the flow of the
air or its direction. Such room dividers consist of a hollow space
being created by panels that are spaced from each other by a
predetermined distance to define an air flow there between. The
hollow room divider is placed on an opening in the floor which
floor is spaced above the slab of the building which constitutes
the building floor to thereby form a large or major air plenum.
This air plenum, therefore, is formed by the slab of the building
floor and the raised floor being spaced above the slab of the
building. The air plenum is charged with conditioned air (hot or
cold) at or near room pressure to be explained below. Applicants'
prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,646,966; 4,860,642; 5,135,436; 5,238,452
and 6,318,113 are directed to conditioned air being supplied
through a floor plenum and from there distributed to individual
workstations through various forms of air delivery. This system
differs from others by pressurizing the air which causes excessive
leakage and loss of energy. All of the noted patents operate in
various satisfactory manners, but there is still room for
improvement. In all the known prior art patents as well as
applicants' own patents there is a tendency of the air that is
introduced into the workstation and into various open spaces to
create air streams or air whirls that have a detrimental effect on
the overall climate within the room where persons are working. This
circulating air does not contribute to the cleanliness of the
ambient air. On the contrary, the circulating air will pick up
various contaminants present in the ambient atmosphere until
exhausted.
[0028] The inventive workstation is constructed to take advantage
of the known principle of "displacement ventilation". In all known
systems mentioned above the air conditioning is called the mixing
type where cold and hot or warm are mixed by blowing the
conditioned air into a workstation or an open office area. A
typical displacement ventilation system for cooling supplies
conditioned air from a low side wall diffuser of very low velocity
to limit entrainment of impurities. In the inventive concept, the
conditioned air is supplied from a plenum below the floor which
will be explained below. The supply temperature is slightly lower
than the desired room air temperature, and the supply air velocity
is very low. From the floor plenum below the conditioned air is
directly introduced to the occupied zone, where the occupants stay.
Exhausts are located at or close to the ceiling through which the
warm room air is exhausted from the room. Because it is cooler than
the room air, the supply air spreads near the floor and then is
heated by the heat sources in the occupied zone. These heat sources
(e.g., persons and computers) create upward convective flows in the
form of thermal plumes. The plumes remove heat and contaminants
that are less dense than air from the surrounding occupied
zones.
[0029] By using the principle of "displacement ventilation", the
amount of supply air is less than the mixing-type system. This
necessitates a careful design of the system configuration and
operation to adequately handle the space cooling loads. The
inventive workstation will take the above into account and will be
described below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the installation of a
displacement ventilation;
[0031] FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the air flow in FIG. 1;
[0032] FIG. 3 is a top view of the air flow in FIG. 1;
[0033] FIG. 4 is a unitary duct system of a displacement
ventilation installation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0034] FIG. 1 is a perspective of an installation of a displacement
ventilation system on an individual workstation. The installation
takes place on an air plenum that is created above a concrete slab
1 having a raised floor 2 to thereby create an air plenum that is
charged with conditioned air. The raised floor may be constructed
of tiles 3 which has the advantage of placing any workstation in a
predetermined location in an open office arrangement. It is merely
a matter of removing a certain tile and replacing it with a tile
that has an upward air opening therein. The air opening is used to
direct air to a workstation located above such opening. The
inventive concept uses an under floor supply of air 4 which moves
the conditioned air through a flexible duct 5 to a rigid duct
through the floor 2 and then upwardly into a duct 7. This supply of
air could be in the form of a fan or ducts or could be a supply of
air to one or more workstations. From there the air moves into a
duct system 12 that is located below the work surface 11. The duct
system 12 has a front outlet 13 which is directed at the person
occupying the front of the workstation. That person has complete
control over the direction and quantity of the conditioned air
emanating from the front outlet 13 by adjusting louvers and a
damper. These adjustments are not shown because they are the
subject of applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,113. The
workstation may be enclosed by a back wall 9 and a side wall 10.
The air flow in this system is shown by arrows A to C. The supply
air 4 coming through the flexible duct 5 and the rigid duct 6 is
shown by the arrow A as it rises into the duct 7. From there the
air will flow into the duct 12 and exit at the personal grille at
13 as shown by the arrow B. The person sitting at the front of the
workstation controls the air as to velocity and amount. The
majority of conditioned air travels through the opening 7e from the
duct 7 into a hollow panel 7d and exits back into the room
environment through the opening or supply outlet 8 in the hollow
wall 7c. Air exits at the outlet 8 and at a relatively low
elevation from the floor, and a very low velocity, displaces the
air in this particular area. In this inventive displacement
ventilation system, there are no noticeable air streams or air
turbulences present in the open office space. This greatly
contributes to a cleaner environment because a minimal amount of
dust particles and other contaminants is stirred up because of the
gentle movement of air in the room atmosphere.
[0035] FIG. 2 is a frontal and elevational view of the workstation
including a depiction of the air flow. In this FIG. 2 the same
reference characters are being used as shown in FIG. 1. This
frontal view shows the make up of the duct 7. The duct 7 is made up
of an inner panel 7a and an outer panel 7b. In addition there is a
wall 7c in front of the outer panel 7b. This outer wall 7c has the
opening or outlet 8 therein which is placed into the wall 7c at a
rather low elevation from the floor to aid in the displacement
ventilation of the system. The opening or outlet 8 may be covered
by a fabric or similar material.
[0036] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the installation as shown in
both FIGS. 1 and 2 and again having the same reference characters
as were shown in previous Figs. This Fig. clearly shows the air
currents A to C. No other elements have been provided in this FIG.
3.
[0037] FIG. 4 shows a unitary construction of the ducts whereby a
hollow wall 7 does not have to be provided. Instead the unitary
duct has a vertical duct 15 which takes the place of the hollow
wall 7. The vertical hollow duct 15 has an opening or outlet 8. The
same reference characters are applied as were above. This unitary
duct system operates in the same manner as was described above with
reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, where 3 elements were used. The flexible
tube 5, the rigid duct 6 and the duct 7. This duct system of FIG. 4
may be used in a displacement ventilation system wherein all the
dimensions for the workstations are predetermined. This makes for
an easy installation.
* * * * *