U.S. patent application number 14/427983 was filed with the patent office on 2015-09-03 for slide valve for a ventilation device.
The applicant listed for this patent is SWEGON AB. Invention is credited to Per- ke Larsson, Tomas Soderberg.
Application Number | 20150247648 14/427983 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50278534 |
Filed Date | 2015-09-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150247648 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Soderberg; Tomas ; et
al. |
September 3, 2015 |
Slide valve for a ventilation device
Abstract
The present invention relates to a valve device (1) for a
ventilation installation. The valve device (1) comprises a vent
surface (4) that is equipped with a plurality of vent apertures (5)
and a slide valve (6) comprising a slide valve plate (7) equipped
with a plurality of slide valve apertures (8). The valve plate
formed such that it can be varied between taking a first position
(I) at which the vent apertures (5) are covered by the slide valve
plate (7), and taking a second position (II) at which at least some
vent apertures (5) have surfaces that overlap with some slide valve
apertures (8) such that an air flow is permitted through the valve
device (1). The valve device (1) is designed such that when the
slide valve plate (7) is positioned on that side of the vent
surface (4) that normally has a relatively higher pressure, the
high pressure side (9), than the other side, the low pressure side
(10). The slide valve plate (7) is formed such that the force from
the pressure difference between the high pressure side (9) and the
low pressure side (10) is sufficient to retain the slide valve
plate in its place at the vent surface (4) when it is in the first,
closed position (I).
Inventors: |
Soderberg; Tomas; (Arvika,
SE) ; Larsson; Per- ke; (Vastra Amtervik,
SE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SWEGON AB |
Kvanum |
|
SE |
|
|
Family ID: |
50278534 |
Appl. No.: |
14/427983 |
Filed: |
September 17, 2013 |
PCT Filed: |
September 17, 2013 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/SE2013/051084 |
371 Date: |
March 12, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
454/334 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 11/74 20180101;
F24F 13/12 20130101; F24F 13/06 20130101; F24F 13/16 20130101; F24F
7/065 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F24F 13/12 20060101
F24F013/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 17, 2012 |
SE |
1251037-6 |
Claims
1-12. (canceled)
13. A valve device for a ventilation installation comprising at
least one duct, where the valve device comprises a vent surface
that is equipped with a plurality of vent apertures for passage of
air in the duct, and a slide valve comprising a slide valve plate
equipped with a plurality of slide valve apertures, said slide
valve plate formed such that it can be varied between taking a
first position (I) at which the slide valve is positioned on the
vent surface such that the vent apertures are covered by the slide
valve plate such that the valve device is closed and no flow is
permitted through the valve device, and taking a second position
(II) at which at least some vent apertures have surfaces that
overlap with some slide valve apertures such that an air flow is
permitted through the valve device and the valve device is designed
such that the slide valve plate is positioned on that side of the
vent surface that normally has a higher pressure, the high pressure
side, than the other side, the low pressure side, wherein the slide
valve plate is designed with respect to a weight and flexibility of
the slide valve plate such that the force from the pressure
difference of 100 Pascal between the high pressure side and the low
pressure side is sufficient to retain the slide valve plate in its
place at the vent surface when it is in the first, closed position
(I) even if the slide valve plate is turned upside down.
14. The valve device according to claim 13, wherein the slide valve
plate has a thickness that falls below 1 mm, preferably below 0,7
mm and most preferably below 0,5 mm.
15. The valve device according to claim 13, wherein the slide valve
plate is made in a plastic material or a polymer.
16. The valve device according to claim 13, wherein the slide valve
plate has a Young's modulus that exceeds 2000 MPa.
17. The valve device according to claim 13, wherein the slide valve
plate is made in a homogenous piece of material.
18. The valve device according to claim 13, wherein the slide valve
plate is held in place against the vent surface only by the force
from the pressure difference between the high pressure side and the
low pressure side when the slide valve is in the first, closed
position (I).
19. The valve device according to claim 13, wherein the size and
relative placement of the slide valve apertures of the slide valve
plate corresponds to the vent apertures of the vent surface.
20. The valve device according to claim 13, wherein the change of
the valve device's position from first, closed position (I) to the
second, open position (II) is executed by pulling the slide valve
by means of a drawing arm attached to the front part of the slide
valve plate, and that when the position of the slide valve is
changed from the second, open position (II) to the first, closed
position (I), is thus pushed by means of the drawing arm.
21. The valve device according to claim 13, wherein the valve
device is arranged to control the slide valve to shift between the
two positions defined above, i.e. the first, closed position (I)
and the second, open position (II), where the second, open position
corresponds to that the valve device is completely open.
22. The valve device according to claim 20, wherein the drawing arm
is attached to both the front and rear part of the slide valve
plate.
23. The valve device according to claim 20, wherein the drawing arm
is attached to a stiffened part that runs along the drawing
direction of the slide valve plate from the front part to the rear
part of the slide valve plate, for example a thin rod that runs
over the whole slide valve and is attached to both ends.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a valve device and a slide
valve for a ventilation installation.
BACKGROUND
[0002] During ventilation fresh air is in many cases supplied via
supply air diffusors, it may be one or more that are connected to a
main pipe, where supplied fresh air is brought into motion towards
the supply air diffusors via the main pipe by means of a fan
arrangement. A supply air diffusor may in its least complicated
form be an opening or aperture in the ventilation system. The
supply air diffusor may also be integrated with a cooling or
heating baffle to be able to control the temperature of the
supplied air. The supply air diffusor may in these cases be
arranged such that the fresh air that is supplied to the room
brings existing air in the room such that is passes a heat
exchanger in a cooling/heating baffle and is tempered.
[0003] It is sometimes desirable to control the flow of supplied
air in dependence of the present need. For example, a conference
room may sometimes be empty, and sometimes be more or less
occupied, such that different needs of air supply arise. To be able
to control how much air that is released in the different supply
air diffusors, the ventilation arrangement is often supplied with a
plurality of slide valves or vents in, or in close connection to,
the supply air diffusors.
[0004] An important function of the slide valves is that they shall
be able to close tight when it is not desired to have any flow in a
duct. Leakage leads to unnecessary ventilation and thus energy
waste. Leakage may also lead to the occurrence of undesired noise
in the form of howling or whining vents. In order to be able to
provide ventilation device or slide valves that close tightly is
previously known and is used in such installations today. It is,
however, desirable to develop a siding vent with an uncomplicated
and reliable design.
[0005] There is therefore a desire for a valve device or slide
valve ventilation device that fulfills the above requirements.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a slide
valve and a valve device in a ventilation installation that is easy
to install in a ventilation installation and that can be adjusted
by relatively uncomplicated means.
[0007] The present invention thus relates to a valve device and a
slide valve for a ventilation installation. The ventilation
installation contains one or more ducts that may contain one or
more valve devices. The valve device comprises a vent surface that
is equipped with a plurality of vent apertures for passage of air
in the duct and a slide valve comprising a slide valve plate
equipped with a plurality of slide valve apertures enabling control
of the air permeability in the duct by varying its position in
relation to the vent surface. The slide valve is thus formed such
that it may take a first position (I) in which the slide valve is
positioned on the vent surface such that the vent apertures are
covered by the slide valve such that the valve device is closed and
no air flow is permitted through the valve device. The slide valve
may then be moved relative the vent surface and take a second
position (II) at which at least some vent apertures have surfaces
that overlap with some slide valve apertures such that an air flow
is permitted through the valve device. In the second position, the
apertures in the slide valve and the vent surface, respectively,
may be positioned such that apertures are placed straight over each
other corresponding to a completely open position or placed such
that the apertures only partly overlap each other corresponding to
a partly open position (or partly closed position).
[0008] The slide valve and the valve device according to the
present invention are designed such that when the slide valve is in
the first closed position, is sucked fixed and closes tightly
against the vent surface without any further detail that fixes the
slide valve being required. The slide valve is thus positioned on
that side of the vent surface that normally has a higher pressure,
the high pressure side, than the other side, the low pressure side,
such that the pressure difference between the two sides of the
slide valve ensures that the slide valve is tight along the vent
surface such that no air passage through the ventilation device is
permitted.
[0009] In order to enable the slide valve to have such a function
and to function in an efficient manner as a slide valve, it is
necessary that the slide valve plate is sufficiently soft and
flexible such that it closes tight, at the same time as it is
sufficiently rigid enough to be brought there and back without
folding or squinting. An optimization of these properties is thus
required. If it is the case that the suction force is the force
that holds the slide valve in place, the slide valve shall have a
relatively low weight since it usually are low pressure differences
on the different sides of the vent surface. The slide valve plate
is thus preferably designed with respect to its weight and
flexibility such that the force from a pressure difference between
the high pressure side and the low pressure side is enough to keep
the slide valve plate in its position when it is located on the
high pressure side of the vent even though it is located on the
underside of the vent, i.e. if the plate and the valve are located
such that their surfaces are horizontally located and the slide
valve plate is located on the surface side of the valve facing
towards the ground. The force of the pressure difference which
influences the slide valve plate should thus be greater than the
gravity influencing the slide valve plate. In addition to above
mentioned properties are there of course several other parameters
which influence how the slide valve plate is sucked to stick to the
vent, e.g. the surface structure of the vent surface and the slide
valve plate and the size and quantity of holes and their location
in the vent surface and the slide valve plate.
[0010] The force that is described above is of course also present
at other valve devices where the slide valve is placed on the side
of the cent surface that has a relatively higher pressure. In this
case, however, the slide valve is designed in such a way that the
force that arises due to the pressure difference between the low
pressure and high pressure side constitutes the essential force to
retain the slide valve in place. This brings that the slice valve
in itself must be relatively light in order to avoid a too large
affection by the gravity force.
[0011] It is obvious that the valve device is assumed to comprise
some kind of rail or other arrangement having the function of
preventing the slide valve plate from being completely detached
from the vent surface when the slide valve is in its open position
It should however be noted there is a huge difference in the design
of the slide valve and the slide valve plate in case the slide
valve plate shall be mechanically pressed towards the vent surface
in order to ensure that the slide valve is tight which is the
normal way of designing valves in different kinds of arrangements.
In such valve arrangements is there in general a need for a larger
force in order to move the slide valve plate which also implies a
need for an increased rigidity of the slide valve plate while the
need for a low weight not is particularly relevant. Such a design
of a slide valve will thus imply other needs which will influence
the design of the slide valve.
[0012] The valve device of the present invention can for example be
formed such that the suction force from a predetermined pressure
difference, for example 100 Pascal (Pa) between high pressure side
and low pressure side, exceeds the gravitational force from the
slide valve when the slide valve is in the first closed position,
i.e. that the slide valve would remain even if it is turned upside
down. Preferably the slide valve is designed such that a pressure
difference of 70 Pa is sufficient, and even more preferably, that a
pressure difference of 40 Pa provides a retaining effect which
exceeds the gravitational force from the slide valve. By performing
a test at which the slide valve is placed such that it is dragged
straight away from the vent surface by the gravitational force,
i.e. that the slide valve is placed on the lower side of the vent
surface and that the slide valve and the vent surface are
horizontally placed while the force from the pressure difference
acts in the opposite direction, one may determine whether the
sucking force is sufficiently large to retain the slide valve.
Since there are a wide variety of parameters as pointed out above
(e.g. weight, size or geometry of the holes, flexibility, surface
structure etc.) which may be varied in order to influence the
property of the slide valve plate to be sucked and stuck to the
vent surface is it difficult, if not to say impossible, to define
certain values for single parameters which must be satisfied in
order to be able to design a slide valve according to the above
stated specifications, e.g. being able to stay in its position when
there is a pressure difference of 100 Pa. The feature which most
probably differs from commonly used slide valve plates today in
similar devices is probably the weight of the slide valve which is
lower for most of the similar slide valves. Except the weight of
the slide valve and the pressure difference between the two sides,
naturally other factors such as the aperture area affect how large
force from the pressure difference that works on the slide valve.
When the slide valve is placed such that by means of gravitational
force is pressed against the vent surface, gravitational and
suction force will of course co-operate. Using a relatively thin
and light slide valve enables the slide valve to easily and by
means of a relatively small force shift between the first, closed
position (I) and the second, open position (II), i.e. it is
relatively unaffected by gravitational forces which either can
contribute to leakage of the slide valve if it counteracts and
overcomes the suction force, or to an unnecessary high friction if
the gravitational force co-operate with the suction force. The
slide valve plate is therefore relatively thin and may have a
thickness that falls below 1 mm, preferably below 0,7 mm and most
preferably even below 0,5 and is expected to be between 0,15 and
0,35 mm. The thickness of the slide valve plate is of course
dependent of the material it is made of. A suitable choice of
material is plastic or similar polymer. The plate could be
laminated by several different types of plastic or other materials,
but it is probably easiest to use the same material all along from
am manufacturing point of view. There is also no risk that the
layers loosen or that different material age differently and give
rise to deformations as a consequence of different material
properties. Letting the slide valve plate be made in a homogenous
piece of material thus have some advantages if a material may
fulfill the desired criteria. The material shall thus be chosen
such that the slide valve plate is sufficiently stiff and be able
to slide easily against the vent surface enabling it to be easily
pushed or in any other way change position from the first position
(I) to the second position (II) and close sufficiently tightly when
the slide valve plate is in the first, closed position (I). The
material chosen for the plate can therefore be a polyester film,
for example Mylar.RTM. A that is one from DuPont that suitably can
be used in thicknesses from 0,15 to 0,50 mm. The material that is
used suitably has a Young's modulus that exceeds 2000 MPa according
to the test method ASTM D 882 since too soft materials have a
tendency to fold. It is essential that the slide valve has such a
stiffness relative the friction that arises when the slide valve is
pushed, that it does not fold or bend to any essential degree, at
the same time as it is not stiff to such a degree that it lack the
ability to adapt to the bedding. The slide valve plate, with its
recessed apertures, thus has to present a sufficient bending
rigidity. The bending rigidity thus partly depends on material and
thickness, but also on the aperture configuration. It is also
important that the surface does not stick, i.e. the properties of
the slide valve material shall not be of such character that it has
a too large tendency to stick at the surface. The surface property
of the material thus becomes a compromise between finding a
material for the slide valve that closes sufficiently tightly at
the same time as it does not stick too hard to the surface. In
practice, it may facilitate that a slide valve that has been closed
is pulled instead of pushed in order to avoid that it sticks to the
surface, avoiding that the slide valve folds. A material that is
stable with respect to form contributes to avoid folding, where
stable with respect to form comprises stability regarding for
example ageing, such as wear, and environment, such as
temperature.
[0013] The valve device is thus preferably formed such that the
slide valve is pressed in place and retained against the vent
surface only by means of the pressure difference between the low
pressure side and the high pressure side. This leads to that no
extra devices are needed for retaining the plate which makes the
design of the valve device less complicated. It also leads to that
the mechanism that is used to change the slide valve's position
from open to close and vice versa may be made in a less complicated
way when it does not have to be used to overcome other added
frictional forces that press the slide valve against the vent
surface.
[0014] The valve device may be formed such that the change of the
slide valve's position from first, closed position (I) to the
second, open position (II) is executed by pulling the slide valve
by means of a drawing arm attached to the front part of the slide
valve, i.e. the end of the slide valve that lies foremost in the
direction of movement when the slide valve is opened. When the
position of the slide valve is changed from the second, open
position (II) to the first, closed position (I), it is thus pushed
by means of the drawing arm attached to the end that lies rearmost
in the direction of movement. It may be advantageous to have the
slide valve arranged in this manner since the largest forces
probably are needed to loosen the slide valve when it has been it
its closed position and has been sucked to the vent surface. By
means of this arrangement it is avoided that the slide valve plate
is bent or folded when it is released from the closed position (I).
Folding of he slide valve plate can also be avoided if the drawing
arrangement is attached to both ends, for example by letting the
drawing arm being attached to a stiffened part that either may be
integrated with the slide valve plate or a separate thin rod that
runs along the drawing direction of the slide valve plate from the
front part to the rear part of the slide valve plate and is
attached to both ends. It is also possible to let one drawing arm
or two separate drawing arms being attached to the front and rear
end of the slide valve plate such that the may be used to mainly
pull the end that is positioned foremost in the movement of
direction during movement of the grid.
[0015] The slide valve plate is preferably formed such that its
aperture geometry corresponds to the vent apertures of the vent
surface. It may of course be conceivable that there are some
apertures in the vent surface that do not have any corresponding
apertures in the slide valve plate when the slide valve plate is in
the open position to contribute to holding the slide valve plate in
place in the open position. Even if further detail and devices are
necessary for pressing the slide valve plate against the vent
surface, any kind of guiding rails or other guiding devices may be
useful to straighten the plate.
[0016] The valve device may really only be arranged to function in
two different positions, i.e. to control the slide valve to shift
between the first, closed position (I) and the second, open
position (II) at which essentially all apertures are completely
open, i.e. all apertures in the slide valve plate have
corresponding apertures in the vent surface while there, as
described above, still may be apertures in the vent surface that
abuts the slide valve plate to keep the slide valve plate in
place.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The present invention will now be described more in detail
with reference to the appended drawings, where:
[0018] FIG. 1 shows a schematic overview of a ventilation
device;
[0019] FIG. 2 shows a valve device with a slide valve in a first,
closed position (I);
[0020] FIG. 3 shows a valve device with a slide valve in a second,
open position (I);
[0021] FIG. 4 shows a valve device in a partially closed
position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a piece of ventilation
installation 2 with a valve device 1 comprised in a supply air
diffusor 11 at the end of a duct 3. The figure thus shows a very
simple ventilation installation 2 and it is possible to add more
supply air diffusors 11 and ducts to the installation 2. The
ventilation arrangement is shown viewed from below. The duct 3 is
connected to a fan 12 that is used to create an air flow by sucking
in fresh air 13 and distributes in the duct such that a high
pressure side 9 is created in the duct that has a higher pressure
than what is present in the surrounding air outside the duct, the
low pressure side 10. The valve device 1 comprises a vent surface 4
in the duct 3 which has been made by making a plurality of vent
apertures 5 for passage of air in the duct 3 such that a supply air
diffusor 11 has been created. The vent surface 4 is intended to
co-operate with a slide valve 6 (see FIG. 2) which is attached to a
drawing arm 14.
[0023] FIG. 2 shows a slide valve 6 comprising a slide valve plate
7 equipped with a plurality of slide valve apertures 8 when the
slide valve is in its first, closed position (I). The slide valve
plate 7 is formed such that it may be varied between taking first
position (I) at which the slide valve 6 is position on the vent
surface 4 such that the vent apertures 5 are covered by the slide
valve plate 7 and no flow is permitted through the valve device 1.
The slide valve 6 may then be adjusted by means of the drawing arm
14 and to take a second position (II) at which at least some vent
apertures 5 have surfaces that overlap with some slide valve
apertures 8 such that an air flow is permitted through the valve
device 1 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the second position, the
apertures in the slide valve and the vent surface, respectively,
may be positioned such that apertures are placed straight over each
other corresponding to a completely open position or placed such
that the apertures only partly overlap each other corresponding to
a partly open position (or partly closed position). It is thus
possible to let the slide valve 6 take different second position
(II) where different amounts of air are permitted to pass the valve
device 1 by adjusting how large part of the slide valve apertures 8
that overlap with the vent apertures 5 such that the flow through
the supply air diffusor 11 is controlled. The valve device 1 is
designed such that the slide valve (6) is positioned on that side
of the vent surface 4 that normally has a relatively higher
pressure, the high pressure side (9), than the other side, the low
pressure side 10. The high pressure side 9 corresponds to the side
of the vent surface 4 that faces the duct 3 and the low pressure
side corresponds to the side that faces away from the duct 3 and in
this case is constituted by surrounding air. The slide valve plate
7 will then be exposed to a force from the pressure difference
between the high pressure side 9 and the low pressure side 10 such
that it is pressed or sucked against the vent surface 4. The force
that strives against pulling the slide valve 6 against the vent
surface 4 is largest when the slide valve is closed as shown in
FIG. 2, and smallest when the slide valve is completely open as
shown in FIG. 3. The slide valve 6 is formed such that when the
slide valve 6 is positioned in the closed position, the force from
the pressure difference between the high pressure side 9 and the
low pressure side 10 sufficiently large to retain the slide valve 6
in the closed position and ensure that the slide valve 6 is tight
along the vent surface such that no air flow is permitted.
[0024] The vent apertures 5 and the slide valve apertures 8 may of
course be modified regarding size, shape and mutual placement. For
example, it may be possible to add some extra vent apertures 5 to
the vent surface 4, which extra vent apertures 5 are covered by the
slide valve plate 7 even when the slide valve is in the open
position (II) such that the plate is better held in place in the
open position (II). Even if it is not necessary with any extra
arrangement for pressing the slide valve plate 7 against the vent
surface 4 in order to retain the slide valve 6 against the vent
surface 4, it may be useful to have any kind of guiding rails or
similar devices to guide the slide valve 7 when it is brought
between its different positions such that it does not squint and
gets out of position.
* * * * *