AU776729B2

AU776729B2 - A method and means to create an individually controlled climate at a separate workstation in a room having primary climate equipment

Info

Publication number: AU776729B2
Application number: AU54376/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Goran Bernhardsson
Original assignee: Pluggit Int Nv
Current assignee: PLUGGIT INTERNATIONAL NV
Priority date: 1999-06-08
Filing date: 2000-06-08
Publication date: 2004-09-23
Anticipated expiration: 2020-06-08
Also published as: AU5437600A; ATE267989T1; CA2373033C; SE9902162D0; EP1183486A1; MXPA01012615A; PL352191A1; CA2373033A1; DE60011072D1; DK1183486T3; WO2000075575A1; PT1183486E; BR0011387A; CN1377455A; JP2003501610A; ES2221848T3; PL197670B1; EP1183486B1; CN1180203C; DE60011072T2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and means to create an individually controlled climate at a separate workstation in a room having a primary climate equipment by using one of several possible connection points at a connection network in a roof or in a ceiling and covering an essential part of the surface of the room. The invention is characterised in that a secondary, individual climate influencing equipment at the primary room climate equipment is releasable connected to one of several possible connection points at a conduit network in the ceiling or in the floor and covering an essential part of the room surface, whereby at least the incoming and/or outflowing air is fed through said connection network and that the user of the separate work station will set or influence means to control flow and temperature of the inflow and or outflow of air to and from the workstation, respectively.

Description

1 A method and means to create an individually controlled climate at a separate workstation in a room having a primary climate equipment.

The present invention relates to a method and means to create an individually controlled climate at a separate work station in a room having a primary climate equipment by using one of several possible connection points at a connection network in a roof or in a ceiling and covering an essential part of the surface of the room.

Human beings need fresh air and a regulated temperature to feel comfortable. This is also the case in a work station in an office where bad air and a too high or a too low temperature will decrease the working capacity. The comfortable temperature is highly individual as well as a person's sensitivity to drafts and odours. To control the climate in a workroom or in an open-plan office from just one basic setting is not sufficient in most cases, as some persons will be close to venting air outlets and/or radiators and will suffer from this, while other persons will be further away and will have poor air ventilation **and/or a less than optimum temperature to work efficiently during a whole working day. Techniques according prior art involve the use of huge static and 20 hard to control systems integrated in the building and working with an air exchange in the order of 40-60 m 3 /hour/person.

Io ~Thus an economic adaptation of the whole indoor climate or of the microclimate for each workstation can be difficult to obtain. Ventilating, comfort cooling and heating should be obtainable in an individual way with 25 regard to not just the inflow of temperature moderated fresh air but also where the evacuation of used air or air affected by smoke, flatulens and/or transpiration, welding smoke, etc will be efficiently removed close to the working station, i.e. close to the person being the cause of the inconveniences.

Thus the main object of the present invention is to provide an individually (relating to each person controlled) climate adaptation of any workstation by integrating the secondary climate equipment into a furniture module.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an individual workstation having its own heat pump module for comfortable cooling or heating.

The above mentioned objects are obtained by a method and equipment having the characterising features mentioned in the claims.

By providing a releasable connection to the primary climate equipment of the building, of a secondary separate climate controlling equipment in connection to the workstation, at one of several possible connection points at the conduit network provided in the ceiling or in the floor and covering an essential part of the surface of the room, extensive freedom in choice and possible composition of several work stations is possible, each with its own micro climate obtained by the user adjusting means or influencing means for controlling flow and temperature of the incoming and/or outflowing air to and from the workstation, respectively.

By activating the secondary climate equipment in connection to V oes the workstation to co-operate with the primary climate equipment in the building, just when the workstation is used, the initial expenses for the climate ego: system can be kept low in the event a full climate adaptation capacity for all the possible workstations is not needed. In the case that the separate workstations have small heat pump modules, these can very well be used for a basic climate adaptation of the room during non-working hours.

Many advantages are achieved if the secondary climate equipment 25 forms part of a furniture module in connection to the workstation, which .000 0 module is arranged for a releasable connection to and co-operation with, the o09 primary climate equipment of the building by the use of an arrangement with columns containing channels, conduits and/or wiring for the utilities to be used at the workstation.

One possibility is to use special connection means for different utilities, which means being connectable to the correct positions at the conduit network.

One advantage with the invention is to use the cooling and ventilation possibilities at the separate workstation also for the workchair.

As the airflow is small, the appropriate conduit network for this purpose can be made flexible and not bulky by the use of a hose containing channels for both inflowing and outflowing air.

A channel network for ventilation may consist of crossed channels for inflowing and/or outflowing air joined in a check pattern together with conduits for heating/cooling, electricity, data, etc. Hereby the airflow at an outlet point of the check patterns system can be fed from at least two directions.

The piercing of the air inlet channels and the closing of the same in connection to a rearrangement of the room module including movement of the workstations can be done in many different ways. For example, a kind of push lid can be used, or the apertures can be made with a special perforating saw equipment and can be resealed with special sealing means being snapped in place. Lids in the roof and/or in the ceiling will give admittance to the channel system.

At bigger room modules with a large ventilation needs, it is 20 possible to arrange channels for incoming air both in the ceiling and in the floor.

~This can be done, as the height will become as low as 10 cm for each channel system.

When it comes to the primary climate adaptation equipment

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25 integrated in the building, this can be completely free from the channel system being arranged in the floor and maybe in the ceiling. Thus the primary climate adaptation equipment will give a basic climate in the building and for the separate room modules, for example, an initial heating and an initial ventilation, while the individual climate adaptation for each workstation with a personally chosen temperature level and degree of ventilation will be provided by the 4 secondary climate equipment, where the evacuation of air preferably takes place.

The invention will be described below in connection to an embodiment shown in the attached drawings, where Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an office room where a conduit chequered pattern network has been put into the ceiling and where a connection of a couple of workstations have been shown, Fig. 2 is a side view of a ventilation evacuation part in connection to a workstation, Fig. 3 is a side view of a ventilation evacuation part in connection to a workstation under its desk, Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a workstation completed with a column arrangement to connect to a conduit network in the ceiling, and where Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side view of a workstation equipped with an air heat pump module.

:o.•Thus fig. 1 is a perspective view of a large office room where a conduit network 1 for the evacuating air is shown. Two workstations 3 are shown connected to the conduit network 1 by connection means 2.

The incoming air is here shown coming in peripherally at two short ends of the room, but this conduit network can also be more branched off if this is regarded as suitable for certain applications.

"'•Figure 2 gives a side view of an evacuation part 4 of the system, provided above a workstation 3 and being connected to the conduit network 1 25 by connection means 2 and by channel means 5. The illustrated evacuation means is arranged to use the inflowing air to perform an ejecting action, i. e.

eject the existing indoor air with said inflowing air.

In fig. 3 a variant of the outlet part 4 of the system for inflowing air is shown positioned beneath a working desk at the workstation and where the ejected air has the possibility to pass a heat element prior to escape.

In fig. 4, a diagrammatic perspective view of a workstation 3 completed with a column arrangement 7 for connection to a conduit network 1 in the ceiling is shown. Here the evacuating means 4,8 for fresh air, etc. and its arrangement for a co-operation to individually control the microclimate is also illustrated. A conduit 8a has also been shown connected to the chair. Otherwise connections 6 for a telephone 9 and for a computer 10 (internet) are shown.

In fig. 5, a diagrammatic side view of a workstation 3 equipped with an air heat pump module A having a capacity to draw in indoor air to heat, cool and/or dehumidify said air before it is ejected to contribute to the creation of a comfortable micro climate is illustrated. In connection to the heat pump module A it is possible for a ion emission procedure to be arranged to increase the self cleaning ability of the indoor air in such a way that electrically charged particles in the room will more easily be united to form heavier particles falling out from the indoor air and become more easily taken care of.

The invention is not restricted to what is mentioned above, but modifications can be done within the scope of the following claims.

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Claims

1. A method to create an individually controlled climate at a separate work station in a room having a primary climate equipment, characterised in that a secondary, individual climate influencing equipment is releasable connected to the primary room climate equipment at one of several possible connection points at a conduit network provided in the ceiling or in the floor and covering an essential part of the room surface, whereby at least the incoming and/or outflowing air is fed through said connection network and that the user of the separate work station will set or influence means to control flow and temperature of the inflow and/or outflow of air to and from the workstation, respectively.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the secondary climate equipment in connection to the workstations are activated for a cooperation with the primary climate equipment in the building only when the workstations are used.

3. An apparatus to obtain an individually affected climate adaption of a separate workstation in a room having a primary climate equipment to perform the method according to claim 1, characterised in a furniture module in connection e: to the workstation having a secondary climate equipment arranged to be releasable connected to co-operate with the primary climate equipment of the building by a conduit network in the ceiling or the floor covering an essential part of the room surface.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that conduits for electricity and computer communication are also included in the network. 25

5. An apparatus according to either one of claims 3 to 4, characterised in that in connection to the conduit network, there are prearranged connection points being accessible from the outside, each having a specially adapted shape and prepared to receive correspondingly shaped and adapted connection means, for example, in the shape of coupling boxes, each of which is designed for connection to a certain necessity.

6. An apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterised in that the office chair is also connected to the climate equipment.

7. An apparatus according to any one or of claims 3 to 6, wherein the secondary climate equipment forms part of an apparatus with a pressure chamber for injecting ventilating air and having an ejector for a simultaneous suck in and circulation of indoor air through a heat exchanger for a possible cooling or heating of the indoor air, characterised in a textile permeable envelope of a suitable size, through which the circulating air passes and is distributed out in the room.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, characterised in that the textile permeable envelope is covered by an adjustable screening and maybe air guiding means for controlling the airflow by said equipment for injection.

9. An equipment according to either one of claims 5 or 7, characterised in that said equipment for injection of air to the workstation for creating a micro climate includes a heat pump by which evaporating and condensing element, respectively, cooled and heated air respectively can be fed prior to an outlet to the workstation.

10. An equipment according to any one of claims 5 to 9, characterised in that electricity, computer and/or phone connections form part of the conduit network for a simple connection to the separate workstation. Dated this 30 th day of July 2004 PLUGGIT International N.V. By their Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO o*