- 1 Modular Ventilation System 5 The invention relates to a modular ventilation system for ventilating and/or adjusting the temperature (i.e. heating or cooling) of rooms of a building. In the known facade aeration devices, external air is drawn through a corres ponding opening in the facade and into the device in the building and is blown 10 out again through a convector or a similar heat exchanger. The external air is thermally conditioned in this manner. In order to limit the proportion of the exter nal air to the hygienically necessary amount and to increase the thermal per formance by having more air being blown through the convector, indoor air, that is to say circulating air, is mixed with the external air. 15 This occurs either in that this indoor air or circulating air is simultaneously drawn into the room with the external air through the same fan by means of a corres ponding opening in the device and is blown out together with the external air through the convector. Alternatively, a second fan can also be employed for the 20 drawing in and blowing out of the indoor air. Document DE 195 48 599 C2 discloses such a ventilation system for rooms of buildings, in which system the ventilation aggregate is arranged beneath a win dow and has an inlet on the external side of the building for fresh air as well as 25 an outlet for outgoing air. On the interior of the room, an inlet for indoor air and an outlet for fresh air and/or circulating air are provided. This known a ventilation system ends flush with the floor and is received in a recess of the floor or of the building intermediate ceiling. In order to equalise the temperature of the air current delivered from the outlet, this ventilation system is provided with a heat 30 exchanger in the direction of flow downstream from the ventilation aggregate.
-2 Document DE 102 52 264 B4 also discloses an air-technology device for heating or cooling a room in which external air and internal air are mixed together and conducted through a heat exchanger, a fan being arranged in such a manner 5 that it draws in external air and conducts this together with the indoor air through the heat exchanger. In these known ventilation systems, the amount of mixed external air is primarily controlled through flaps or the like. In this known manner of proceeding, it is regarded as disadvantageous that the 10 external air fan must overcome relatively high internal air resistance since said fan must draw in both the external air as well as the circulating air through dif ferent openings or flaps and must furthermore blow them out again through the convector in such a manner that the external air must be blown through the convector by means of induction nozzles. 15 The problem addressed by the present invention is, in this regard, to provide a modular ventilation system of the type previously mentioned, the components of which are easier to exchange and that furthermore has improved conduction of air in comparison to the known systems. 20 This problem is substantially solved according to the invention with a modular ventilation system in that said ventilation system comprises a first module that is to be arranged within a room and/or its walls or ceiling in proximity to a facade, in which first module an indoor-air or circulating-air fan is provided for supplying 25 a temperature-regulated air current into the room, and furthermore comprises a second module in which a heat exchanger is provided that is flowed through by the air current to be temperature-regulated as well as by a heating or cooling medium. According to the invention, the heat exchanger is arranged between an indoor-air opening, which is provided in the second module, for drawing in air 30 from the room and a fresh-air opening, which is provided in the first module, for delivering the air current into the room, the indoor-air or circulating-air fan being arranged relative to the heat exchanger in such a manner that the air current from an intake plenum, which is provided inside the second module by means of the heat exchanger, is drawn in by the heat exchanger and subsequently is 5- conducted through the indoor-air or circulating-air fan to be delivered finally by means of a blow-out plenum and/or fresh-air opening provided in the first mod ule. In that the indoor-air or circulating-air fan in the modular ventilation system 10 according to the invention draws in both indoor air as well as, optionally, exter nal air by means of the heat exchanger (convector), the air current can be blown out directed through the fresh-air opening. This makes it possible to create different device variants, for example for wall or floor assembly, solely in that the fresh-air opening is arranged horizontally or vertically for blowing out the air 15 current. The modular construction style of the ventilation system according to the invention makes it easier for differently configured ventilation systems to be manufactured with components that are at least substantially identical to one another. The exchangeability of the individual modules furthermore leads to a particularly high degree of ease of reparation and maintenance. 20 To make not only an operation for circulating air possible but also for supplying fresh air, that is to say external air, a third module is additionally provided in the ventilation system in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the third module being arranged laterally beside the first and the second modules. 25 An external-air fan for drawing in external air through the facade of the building is provided in the third module. It is thereby possible in both a horizontal ar rangement of the ventilation system according to the invention in the floor as well as in a vertical arrangement of the ventilation system in the facade or para pet of a building for the external-air fan to be reached or, if necessary, ex 30 changed through the indoor-air opening and/or the fresh-air opening. In the third -4 module beside In addition to both of the first modules, the external-air fan and, optionally, the components necessary for using the external-air fan such as, for example, external-air flaps, external-air filters, an external-air volume flow sen sor, an external-air temperature sensor, a filter-monitoring sensor or the like are 5 individually arranged combined into a compact module in the third module. This third module, in addition to both of the first modules, can simply be inserted in a cartridge-like manner in the region of the indoor-air opening. By means of a sealing insert, the openings, which are located in the installation area of this 10 third module, for drawing in external air as well as directing external air into a sound-absorption unit are initially tightly sealed. This sealing insert can be re moved prior to introducing the third module (external-air module) or can be inserted again after completion of the module. It is thus preferred if the third module is divided into a plurality of cartridges, in particular separate cartridges 15 for external-air fan and external-air flap with external-air filter. In developing this inventive concept, a fourth module can additionally be pro vided in the modular ventilation system, which fourth module is configured as an external-air sound-absorption unit. This fourth module is arranged on the side of 20 the second module that is opposite the first module, that is to say in the direction of the interior of the building. In this embodiment of the modular ventilation system according to the invention, the external air is initially drawn in through the external-air fan into the third module laterally beside the heat exchanger (convector) and beneath the indoor-air opening, subsequent to which it is con 25 ducted to the sound-absorption unit within the fourth module. The external air can flow from the sound-absorption unit into the intake plenum. The fourth module can, according to a preferred embodiment, be configured in such a manner that the sound absorption occurs in that the air is conducted 30 through air canals, which are arranged beside one another in a concertina-like -5 arrangement and are furthermore provided with baffle-type sound dampers, through the fourth module. In this case, access to each of these air canals, which are arranged beside one another in a concertina-like manner, is config ured open toward the installation space of the external-air fan and thus can be reached by brushes, vacuum cleaner hoses with attachment nozzles or high pressure air hoses with attachment nozzles for the purpose of cleaning. In the instance in which the external-air fan cartridge or the third module is used, the air canals that are arranged beside one another in a concertina-like arrange ment are either sealed thereby or by a separate sealing insert sealed with the 10 exception of the air canal entrance into which the external air is initially intended to be blown in from the external-air fan. Preferably, a slit is provided between the fourth module and the second module, the length of said slit corresponding substantially to the ribbed length of the heat 15 exchanger in such a manner that, regardless of the geometry of the air conduc tance of the external air through the external-air sound-absorbing unit, a sub stantially constant rate of blowing out of the external air results over the entire ribbed length of the heat exchanger. 20 Preferably, the opening of the intake plenum, which opening is on the longitudi nal side of device, is arranged substantially higher than the device floor in such manner that the sound-absorption unit can be configured with a substantially reduced construction height or construction depth. This has then particular advantages if the device installation space can be partially designed with only a 25 construction depth that corresponds to the maximum construction depth of the device in the region of the inside-air opening. The sound-absorption unit thus can be well integrated into the floor of a room. Preferably the external-air fan is connected to the sound-absorption unit in such 30 a manner that external air from the external-air fan is drawn into the -6 sound-absorption unit, the sound-absorption unit being in flow communication with the intake plenum designed above the heat exchanger in such a manner that the external air is drawn in by the indoor-air or circulating-air fan into the intake plenum and from there it is drawn in by the heat exchanger. In particular, 5 the external air is conducted, on the one hand, with minimal pressure from the external-air fan into the intake plenum and, at the same time, it is drawn in from there by means of the indoor-air or circulating-air fan together with the circulat ing air through the heat exchanger. The external air subsequently joins the indoor air or circulating air in the intake plenum. 10 In order to conduct the circulating-air volume flow through the heat exchanger throughout the entire length and also as uniformly as possible, the indoor-air or circulating-air fan is configured according to a preferred embodiment as a cross current flow fan. This means that the cross-current flow-fan unit and the heat 15 exchanger have approximately the same construction length. Accordingly, the first and second modules are also configured with the same width, these mod ules or the cross-current flow fan and the heat exchanger being able to be in stalled or removed separately from one another through the indoor-air opening and/or the fresh-air opening. 20 If the heat exchanger in the second module is arranged inclined with respect to the level in such a manner that the side of the heat exchanger facing toward the first module is lifted relative to its side facing away from the first module, not only is a particularly space-saving manner of construction possible, but also very 25 favourable air conductance within the ventilation system. Thus it is preferred if the indoor-air opening can be configured as tightly or narrowly as possible for reasons of saving space, which is achieved by means of the inclination and the partially covered arrangement of the heat exchanger. An intake plenum that is nearly triangular in cross-section arises between the indoor-air opening and the 30 convector surface of the heat exchanger owing to the independent inclination of -7 the heat exchanger of the fagade ventilation device in the direction of the exter nal-air supply according to the invention as well as according to the previously described features. 5 Independently from the above-mentioned features, the configuration of an intake plenum in a facade ventilation system is a substantial aspect of the invention. By means of this intake plenum, a covering or masking of the convector surface is prevented by the covering or the grille barrier of the indoor-air opening or by a reduction of the indoor-air opening effected with respect to the convector sur 10 face. Corresponding reductions in capacity or performance can thus be ex cluded. The inclination of the heat exchanger in the direction of the external-air supply furthermore makes it possible for the external-air fan to blow out the external air that was drawn in and is in the intake plenum without it being neces sary to achieve this by increasing the construction height or construction depth 15 of the device. According to one embodiment of the invention, the external-air or circulating-air fan and the fresh-air opening in the first module are arranged in such a manner that the temperature-adjusted air current is delivered substantially horizontally 20 from the first module. In other words, no deflection of the air current occurs in the cross-current flow fan. Alternative hereto is a possible deflection of 90" in the cross-current flow fan, thereby leading to the delivery of the temperature adjusted air current from the first module in a substantially vertical manner. 25 In a modular ventilation system according to the invention, it is particularly pre ferred if the external-air or circulating-air fan and/or the external-air fan is asso ciated with at least one control or regulation device in such a manner that the amount of the external air contained in the temperature-adjusted air current is at least substantially adjustable in a defined manner by a change in the rotational 30 speed of the external-air or circulating-air fan and/or of the external-air fan. A - 8complicated control, which is also associated with flow losses, by means of flaps can be avoided in this manner. The ventilation system according to the invention thus also functions in a particularly quiet manner. 5 In order for the components of the ventilation system to be reached for mainte nance work, according to the invention the size of the fresh-air opening or of the indoor-air opening and the size of the indoor-air or circulating-air fan or of the heat exchanger are coordinated to one another in such a manner that it is pos sible to remove from the respective modules the indoor-air or circulating-air fan 10 through the fresh-air opening and the heat exchanger through the indoor-air opening. The modular design of the ventilation system according to the invention makes it suitable both for initial installation in rooms of the building as well as for retrofit 15 ting in existing buildings, In this manner, a different number of ventilation sys tems can be provided in different rooms. In order to increase the thermal performance, a plurality of the modular ventila tion systems according to the invention can be provided in a room in a building, 20 at least one of these modular ventilation systems being provided with a third module having an external-air fan, while at least one of the other modular venti lation systems being not provided with such a third module having an exter nal-air fan. It is preferred if the first module having the indoor-air or circulating air fan and the second module having the heat exchanger are provided in two 25 different widths and thus two different performance variants. Both of the smaller modules are then always integrated into the ventilation system if, in addition thereto, a third module having an external-air fan is provided, while the modules with the indoor-air or circulating-air fan and the heat exchanger can substantially extend over the entire width of the device if no external-air fan is provided. 30 -9 The invention is explained in greater detail in the following with the help of ex emplified embodiments and by reference to the drawing, All described and/or graphically represented features constitute per se or in any combination what soever the object of the invention independent of their summing up in the claims 5 or their references. It is shown in Fig. 1 a top view of a ventilation system according to a first embodiment 10 of the invention, Fig. 2a a top view of a ventilation system according to a second embodi ment of the invention, 15 Fig. 2b a top view of a ventilation system according to a third embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 a sectional view of a ventilation system according to the invention, 20 Fig. 4 a sectional view of a ventilation system according to an additional embodiment of the invention. The modularly constructed ventilation system I shown in figure 1 comprises a first module 2 in which a cross-current flow fan 3 is provided that serves as an 25 indoor-air or circulating-air fan. In a second module 4, which is arranged beside the first module 2, a convector (heat exchanger) 5 is provided. As can be seen in figures 3 and 4, the convector 5 is arranged inclined with regard to the level in the second module 4 in such a manner that the side facing the first module 2 is arranged at a greater height than the side of the convector 5 that faces away 30 from the first module 2.
- 10 The convector 5 is configured as a heat exchanger through which a heating or cooling medium is conducted for adjusting the temperature of an air current that is likewise conducted through the convector 5. In the top view according to 5 figures 1 and 2, a convector connection chamber 6 is provided on the right-hand side beside the first and the second modules 2, 4, said convector connection chamber receiving the connections on the convector 5 for the heating or cooling medium. 10 The embodiments according to figures 1 and 2a or 2b differ in that in the em bodiments according to figures 2a and 2b, the first module 2 and the second module 4, with the exception of the convector connection chamber 6, extend substantially over the entire width of the ventilation system 1, In contrast, the first module 2 and the second module 4, and accordingly also the components 15 provided therein, namely the cross-current flow fan 3 and the convector 5, are configured as shortened in the embodiment according to figure 1. Thus, in figure 1, on the left-hand side beside the first module 2 and the second module 4, a third module 7 is arranged in which an external-air fan 8, which is no longer shown, is provided for drawing in external air. 20 The ventilation system 1 can be provided integrated in the proximity of an exter nal wall or in the facade of a building, the cross-flow fan 3 in the first module 2 being directed toward the external side of the building. By means of an opening, which is more closely shown, in the facade, external air can be drawn in by the 25 external-air fan 8. A fourth module 9 is provided adjacent to the second module 4 and, optionally, adjacent the third module 7 on the side of the ventilation system I that is facing away from the external side of the building. The fourth module 9 forms an exter 30 nal-air sound-absorption unit and has, as can be seen from the views in figures - 11 3 and 4, a reduced construction height with respect to the other modules. In this manner, it is possible to provide the fourth module 9 under the floor of a room. The external air drawn in by means of the external-air fan 8 is laterally blown by 6 the convector 5 in the external-air sound-absorption unit of the fourth module 9, This can take place with a very minimal overpressure. As is shown in figures 3 and 4, a relatively wide slit 10 is provided between the fourth module 9 and the second module 4, the length of said slit corresponding to the ribbed length of the convector 5. The external-air volume flow can thus flow from the external-air 10 sound-absorption unit nearly pressurelessly into the chamber above the convec tor 5 in the second module 4. The slit 10 is dimensioned so widely that a blow-out speed over the entire ribbed length of the convector 5 results that is approximately commensurate with that 15 of the external air and namely independent of the geometry of the air conduc tance of the external air through the external-air sound-absorption unit to the blowing-out slit. In this manner, the resistance, which is in the region of the external-air conductance, to be overcome by the external-air fan 8 is consider ably reduced. This leads to a reduction of both sound emissions as well as of 20 power consumption. The side of the second module 4, which side is the vertical upper one in the installation position, comprises an indoor-air opening 11 for drawing in air from the room. An intake plenum 12 is configured between the indoor-air opening and 25 the inclined convector surface, in which intake plenum 12 flow both the indoor air that has been drawn in as well as the external air. The air resistance of the indoor-air opening 11 that is covered by a covering or a grille barrier or that is reduced in size with respect to the converter surface, is determined practically exclusively in accordance with the ratio of the indoor-air opening surface to the 30 convector inflow surface and is correspondingly small. A capacity or perform- -12 ance reduction is prevented by nieans of the intake plenum 12 owing to a cover ing or a grille barrier being placed on the indoor-air opening or owing to a dimin ishing in size of the indoor-air opening with respect to the convector surface. 5 In the embodiment according to figure 2b, the sound absorption in the fourth module 9 is effected in that the air is conducted in a concertina-like manner through the fourth module 9 through air canals that are arranged side-by-side and are provided with baffle-like sound dampers 15. 10 In the embodiment according to figure 3, the air current, which is drawn in from the intake plenum 12 through the convector 5 by the cross-current flow fan 3, is introduced into the room through a fresh-air (delivery-air) opening 13 in a verti cally upward direction in the installation position. A blow-out plenum 14 is pro vided above the cross-current flow fan 3. The blow-out plenum 14 prevents 15 turbulence through the air resistance of the fresh-air opening 13 that has a covering or a grille barrier. The air resistance of the blow-out plenum 14, which is larger than the blow-out opening of the cross-current flow fan 3, as well as of the blow-out opening 13 is determined according to the ratio of the fresh-air opening surface of the blow-out plenum to the surface of the blow-out opening 20 of the module 2. The air resistance is correspondingly small. In contrast to the embodiment according to figure 3 in which the air current is deflected upward by 90" in the cross-current flow fan 3, an embodiment is shown in figure 4 in which the air current is substantially not deflected in the 25 cross-current flow fan 3. The blow-out plenum 14 and the fresh-air opening 13 are therefore located in a lateral surface of the first module 2. If the directed blowing out of the air current, as in the embodiment according to figure 3, results in the direction from which the room air is also drawn in, the 30 indoor-air opening 11 and the fresh-air opening 13 can be combined into a -13 compact opening that is either covered or has a grille barrier. A recirculation of the fresh-air current into the indoor-air intake is correspondingly largely pre vented by either an aerodynamically optimized separation between the blow-out plenum 14 and the intake plenum 12 and/or by a separating web between the 5 fresh-air opening 13 and the indoor-air opening 11. The indoor-air opening 11 and the fresh-air opening 13 are dimensioned in such a manner that the cross-current flow fan 3 and the convector 5 as well as the external-air fan 8 can be easily reached or exchanged through these openings 10 for maintenance purposes. The modular construction of the ventilation system I makes it also possible to replace a first module 2 and a second module 4 ac cording to figure 1, with a first module 2 and a second module 4 according to figure 2, while retaining the remaining components, if a third module having an external-air fan 8 is not required, or the converse. 15 This leads to an enhanced heating or cooling performance or makes possible a reduction of the circulating-air volume flow, which results in energy conservation and improved comfort if, for reasons of hygiene, no or little external air must be supplied, rendering the third module 7 unnecessary. 20 - 14 Reference numeral list: 5 1 Modular ventilation system 2 First module 3 Indoor-air or circulating-air fan (cross-current flow fan) 4 Second module 5 Convector (heat exchanger) 10 6 Convector connection chamber 7 Third module 8 External-air fan 9 Fourth module (external-air sound-absorption unit) 10 Slit 15 11 Indoor-air opening 12 Intake plenum 13 Fresh-air opening (Delivery-air opening) 14 Blow-out plenum 15 Baffle-type sound damper in concertina-like arrangement 20