EP3717838A1

EP3717838A1 - Device for renewing air in a confined enclosure

Info

Publication number: EP3717838A1
Application number: EP18825741.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pascal TORRES; Matthieu MARTINS; Pierre URRUTTI
Original assignee: Osmose SAS
Current assignee: Osmose SAS
Priority date: 2017-11-28
Filing date: 2018-11-28
Publication date: 2020-10-07
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-28
Also published as: FR3074267A1; WO2019106242A1; EP3717838B1; FR3074267B1; AU2018376873A1; US20210003338A1

Abstract

Device (10, 110) for renewing air in an enclosure comprising an evacuation means (14) for the interior air of the enclosure containing harmful vapours and/or polluted air and/or humidity, a fan (22) being located within the evacuation means and being adapted to drive this interior air through the evacuation means, and a means (26) for opening the door of the enclosure that makes it possible to lock and unlock the door, the unlocking of the door being consecutive to a manual or automatic opening command by virtue of an opening control means, the door remaining locked when the opening means is activated, its deactivation being consecutive to the realization of unlocking conditions. The device additionally comprises a means (17, 27) for purifying the air before it is evacuated through the evacuation pipe.

Description

Air exchange device in a confined space

Technical field of the invention

The present invention relates to devices and methods used for the renewal of vapors and / or polluted air contained in a closed confined space such as a refrigerator intended to contain products exhaling such vapors and / or polluted air or a lava dishwashing machine intended for cleaning the containers for these products, and concerns in particular a device for replacing air in a confined space.

State of the art

In a laboratory, products that need to be kept at temperatures below room temperature are stored in refrigerators. Some of these products present various dangers such as fire, explosion, health risk. They can sometimes release substances harmful to the users who are subjected to their repeated inhalation at each opening of the refrigerator.

It should be noted that a chemical laboratory in which operations are carried out with products giving off vapors or gases and the refrigerators located in this laboratory must be equipped, according to the National Institute for Research and Safety (INRS), a ventilation system to capture these vapors or gases to keep the indoor atmosphere safe at all times.

On the other hand, at the end of a series of manipulations performed in the laboratory, the equipment used is washed in dishwashers. At the end of the washing cycle, when the door is opened, a large quantity of hot steam leaves the machine which represents a disadvantage for the operator even more so if the room contains several dishwashers side by side and rotating at the same time. Steam increases the humidity in the room and forces the operator to wait for the dishes to cool down. In addition, the operator is subjected to the emanation of hot steam in which may reside harmful substances that come from the washed glassware.

Many documents describe ventilation devices used for closed enclosures to prevent toxic fumes from being inhaled. Thus, patent EP 2816306 describes a ventilation system for the treatment of agricultural products and gardening products inside a closed storage room comprising an air mixing unit equipped with a fresh air inlet , an air circulation inlet, a mixing cover which, depending on its degree of opening, mixes the fresh air with the circulating air inside the mixing unit, and an arranged fan to distribute air in the room.

The patent WO 9706390 relates to a combined unit for a renewal of the air and its packaging, in a controlled atmosphere space and comprising an air evacuation chamber, an air recycling chamber, a chamber of air air supply and a fresh air chamber. A supply fan is used to draw air out of the air supply chamber and an exhaust fan is used to draw air out of the exhaust chamber.

The patent FR 2633376 describes a device consisting of one or more individual storage modules comprising a refrigerator accessible by a door, separated in the direction of the height by shelves slatted and an air distribution grid. The device comprises a suction duct and a ventilation duct opening into the insulated enclosure, above the air distribution grille. The renewal air is taken from the ambient air and is carried out by a fan according to a program determined according to the nature and quantity of products grouped by affinity in the shelves.

The document WO 2015/032905 describes a method for preventing leakage of dangerous gas from a container such as, for example, the leakage of flammable refrigerant gas into a storage space, and describes a container having a leakage protection provided with a means to block the access door to this container.

A permanent air change as is the case of the documents EP 2816306 and WO 9706390 requires that the refrigerator works continuously to maintain the set temperature. Not being provided for this purpose, the life of the compressor forced to a quasi-permanent operation is considerably reduced. In addition, the associated energy consumption is much too important. In the case of FR 2633376, the renewal of the air is intermittent but depends on a predetermined program unrelated to the opening of the refrigerator door by an operator.

Presentation of the invention

This is why the main object of the invention is to provide an air renewal device in a confined chamber whose operation precedes the opening of the door by an operator and stops when the door is closed.

The main object of the invention is therefore a device for replacing air in the enclosure comprising means for evacuating the interior air of the enclosure containing harmful vapors and / or polluted air and / or the humidity, a fan located inside the means of evacuation and being adapted to cause this internal air by the evacuation means, a means of opening the door of the enclosure for locking and unlocking the door, the unlocking of the door being consecutive to a command manual or automatic opening by an opening control means, the door remaining locked as the opening means is activated, its deactivation being consecutive to the achievement of unlocking conditions. The device further comprises at least one means for purifying the air before it is discharged through the discharge line.

Brief description of the figures

Other objects, objects and features of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description given with reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the air renewal device according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the air renewal device according to the invention,

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the air renewal device according to a second embodiment,

Figure 4 is a block diagram of the air renewal device specific to the second embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the air renewal device 10 or 110 according to the invention is integrated with an enclosure 12, for example by being fixed on the door of the enclosure or on one of its walls. . The air contained in the enclosure contains harmful vapors and / or pollutants and / or moisture and is referred to as "charged air" in the following description.

The air renewal device 10 or 110 comprises a discharge conduit 14 requiring the drilling of a hole in the wall of the enclosure 12 for the outlet of the charged air contained inside the enclosure. The exhaust duct 14 includes an opening damper 16 which allows the charged air to exit the enclosure when the duct is open as shown by the arrows 18 and 20. Ventilation means such as a fan 22 is started after the opening of the damper 16 to cause the exit of the charged air of the enclosure. The air renewal device also includes a means for purifying the exhaust air, ie to make it healthier. This means can be a means for retaining harmful particles such as a filter 17 disposed before the fan 22. The charged air extracted from the chamber thus passes through the filter 17 before being discharged into the evacuation duct 14. The exhaust air in the exhaust duct is purified to prevent the release of polluting particles into the atmosphere.

When the room in which the enclosure 12 is located has a central ventilation means, the latter can be used for ventilation of the enclosure by connecting the exhaust duct to the ventilation means. In addition, when the charged air is directly discharged into the room where the chamber is located, the means for purifying the charged air before evacuating it avoids the exposure of personnel passing through the room with particles harmful and / or the humidity of the air evacuated from the enclosure.

Note that, as the charged air is extracted and evacuated from the enclosure, air from outside the arrow 36 enters the chamber through an air inlet duct 30 fixed on one of the walls of the enclosure previously drilled so as to renew the air inside the enclosure. The air inlet duct comprises a non-return valve 32 and a filter 34.

The air renewal device 10 comprises a panel of three LEDs. A light 23 (white) lights up when the device 10 is powered, a light 24 (red) lights up if the device has a problem, and the third indicator 25 (green) is a pushbutton that flashes while the speaker door is locked and lights continuously when the door is unlocked. Note that the LEDs could be replaced by other equivalent means performing the same functions.

Finally, the air renewal device 10 comprises an opening means 26 of the enclosure door for locking and unlocking the door. The door opening means 26 may be an electromagnet which prevents the enclosure door from opening as long as it is activated. As soon as it is no longer activated and therefore the indicator 25 remains lit continuously, the door of the enclosure is unlocked and can open. Note that the electromagnet could have an emergency disabling means such as a push button.

The fan 22 continues to extract the air through the conduit 14 after opening the door of the enclosure (detected by a door opening contact) and stops only when closing the subsequent door. Note that the register 16 which operates in parallel with the fan also remains open until the closing of the door. Thus, it is the closing of the door that stops the fan. This characteristic is important insofar as the enclosure is in slight depression, which protects the operator in case the indoor air has not yet been completely renewed and still presents a danger. It is therefore necessary to continue to operate the fan as the door is not closed.

With reference to FIG. 2, the air renewal device according to the invention comprises a programmed automaton 28 adapted to the control of the various means implemented.

When the programmed automaton 28 receives the command to control the unlocking of the door, it sends an opening command to the register 16 so as to open the door. Evacuation duct 14. Almost simultaneously, the controller 28 sends an activation command to the fan 22. Then, the controller 28 sends a command to the electromagnet 26 to deactivate it in order to open the door of the enclosure when certain unlocking conditions are achieved.

The air intake duct 30 comprises an automatic opening and flow control means such as a register controlled by the programmed automaton 28 and 128. This opening means could also be an automatic valve with a small orifice allowing the entry of air in a limited way.

CHARACTERISTICS SPECIFIC TO THE REFRIGERATOR

The enclosure 12 may be a refrigerator containing chemicals that must be kept at a temperature below room temperature. These products belong to categories of products posing a danger to health. In particular, they can release harmful vapors and / or pollutants that can be dangerous or toxic to the health of an operator called to handle them.

In the case of a refrigerator, the order to control the unlocking of the door is in most cases manual and given by an actuation of the opening control means. The aperture control means includes the pushbutton or indicator 25, but may also include other means such as an infrared detection sensor activated when a hand enters its field of view. So when an operator wants to open the refrigerator, he presses the push button to control the opening. This order is received by the programmed automaton 28 which then performs the previously described steps. The device according to the invention may comprise a presence detector and the order to control the unlocking of the door may also be given by the detection of the presence of an operator by this detector. The "button" and "infrared sensor" opening control means as well as "button" and "presence detector" can be accumulated.

The unlocking conditions for a refrigerator are for the most part pre-established, ie they are set in advance according to the nature of the products that the refrigerator must contain, their concentration and the volume of air to be extracted. As will be seen below, certain conditions, so-called security can also be added exceptionally to the conditions necessary for the door of the enclosure 12 to unlock.

The programmed automaton 28 can also automatically give the order to control the unlocking of the door and therefore the start of the air renewal cycle after a predetermined duration has elapsed during which no door opening command was ordered. This timer is useful for removing pollutants that can be concentrated in the refrigerator when the air in it has not been renewed for a long time such as during the night or during the weekend.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF DISHWASHERS

The enclosure 12 may be a dishwasher used in chemistry laboratories to clean the glassware. With reference to FIG. 3, inside the enclosure 12 and therefore inside the dishwasher, a water-proof cover 35 is placed at the level of the hole drilled in the wall which opens into the duct. 14 to prevent water from entering the vent. In addition, a nonreturn valve 33 located at the beginning of the evacuation duct 14 prevents the air loaded back into the chamber 12 in the opposite direction of the arrow 20.

In the case of a dishwasher, indoor air is mainly charged with hot humid vapors and can also contain harmful residual particles from the washed glassware. The air renewal device 110 also includes a means for purifying the exhaust air, that is to say to make it healthier. This means can be a means 27 for decreasing the moisture content of the exhaust air such as a vapor trap associated with a retention tank 29 which recovers the condensates. The steam trap is disposed in the exhaust duct 14 just after the check valve 33. The steam trap is for example a device for separating drops by inertia consisting of a set of sinusoidal shaped blades. The moisture - laden airflow passes between the blades while the water droplets due to their greater inertia can not follow the changes of direction and collide with the blades. The droplets are trapped and assemble to form a gravity-fed liquid to a holding tank 29. The holding tank is emptied manually or can be connected to the dishwasher drain system.

Before being discharged into the exhaust duct 14, the air can also pass through a particulate filter such as filter 17.

Referring to Figure 4, the air renewal device according to the embodiment adapted to the dishwasher comprises a programmable controller 128 adapted to the control of the various means implemented.

The command to control the unlocking of the door can be received by the PLC 128 in two different ways. The order may be manual by the actuation of the pushbutton or indicator 25 by the operator and the order may be automatic consecutively upon receipt of a washing cycle end signal 37 from the electronic card 39 of the lava -washing up. This function requires that the programmed automaton 128 of the air renewal device 110 be electronically connected to the electronic circuit board of the washer. washing up. 1 / Manual activation of the door release control allows the operator to open the door while the wash cycle is not completed. In both cases of manual or automatic opening control, when the programmed controller 128 receives the command to control the unlocking of the door, it sends an opening command to the register 16 so as to open the evacuation duct 14. Almost simultaneously, the controller 128 sends an activation command to the fan 22. Then, the controller 128 sends a command to the electromagnet 26 to deactivate it in order to open the door of the enclosure when certain unlocking conditions are achieved.

As long as the fan is running, the programmed PLC receives data measured by sensors 31 on the temperature, the humidity level and the rate of harmful particles of the charged air coming from inside the dishwasher. Preferably, the sensors are placed in the exhaust duct 14 between the means 27 to reduce the moisture content of the exhaust air and the opening register 16 but could also be located before the means 27. When the measured data each reaches a certain programmed threshold and stored in the programmed PLC, the unlocking conditions are reached and the dishwasher door can be opened.

When the holding tank is connected to the emptying system of the dishwasher, its emptying can be automatically performed at the end of the ventilation cycle by a solenoid valve (not shown) controlled by the programmed controller 128.

The device according to the invention applied in the dishwasher avoids the operators to be exposed to hot vapors at the time of opening the door but also protects the air exhaust ducts against mold due to excessive moisture. SECURITY OPENING CONDITIONS

The red indicator lights up in case of problems, ie when the safety conditions for the operator and for the installation are no longer met. The red light 24 can also be coupled to an audible alarm such as a buzzer.

When the charged air is discharged from the enclosure 12, the interior thereof is in depression relative to the outside. Indeed, it is necessary to have a vacuum inside the enclosure to prevent the charged air out through the door when it opens. Therefore, it is advisable to install a vacuum detector whose measurement is added to the conditions necessary for the door of the enclosure to unlock. In the case where the vacuum is lower than the programmed threshold value and stored in the PLC 28 or 128, the red LED 24 lights up and the buzzer beeps to indicate to the user that the ventilation has not occurred. unwrapped correctly and the electromagnet remains activated.

In the case of a refrigerator, when an operator actuates the opening control means too often, it is possible that the temperature of the refrigerator increases and becomes greater than a predefined temperature limit. As for the vacuum detector it is advisable to install inside the refrigerator a temperature sensor whose measurement is added to the conditions necessary for the door of the enclosure to unlock. For example, a temperature sensor measures the temperature in a control vial containing brine in the refrigerator. If the temperature is warmer than the set threshold temperature and stored in the PLC 28, the red LED flashes, the buzzer beeps and the electromagnet remains on and the ventilation switches off.

Nevertheless, when the red light comes on, if the operator still wants to open the door of the loudspeaker, he must press the pushbutton 25 continuously, for example for at least 3 seconds. Similarly, if the operator wishes to open the emergency door without triggering the operation of the renewal device of the enclosure, a door opening system may be provided for example by a prolonged press on the green button or indicator 25.

Claims

WO 2019/106242 PCT / FR2018 / 000259 CLAIMS

1. Air exchange device (10, 110) in a confined chamber (12) comprising means for evacuating (14) the interior air of the enclosure containing harmful vapors and / or polluted air , and / or humidity, a fan (22) located within said discharge means (14) and being adapted to cause said indoor air by said exhaust means, and an opening means ( 26) a door of said enclosure for locking and unlocking the door, the unlocking of the door being consecutive to a manual or automatic opening command by an opening control means, the door remaining locked as said opening means is activated, its deactivation being consecutive to the achievement of unlocking conditions;

said device being characterized in that it comprises at least one means (17, 27) for purifying the air before it is discharged through said discharge pipe.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein said fan continues to operate after opening the door of the enclosure and only stops during the subsequent closing of the door.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said evacuation means (14) comprises a register (16) which, when it is open, allows the air at the outside of the chamber to pass through. inside the enclosure.

4. Device according to claim 3, comprising a programmed automaton (28, 128) for controlling the opening of said damper (16) and starting said fan, as well as the door opening command of said enclosure through said opening control means.

5. Device according to claim 4, wherein said opening means is an electromagnet (26) whose deactivation controlled by said programmed controller causes the unlocking of the refrigerator door.

6. Device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein an air inlet duct (30) is fixed on one of the walls of the enclosure so as to renew the air inside the enclosure as and when that the polluted air and / or the harmful vapors are evacuated and includes a register whose opening is controlled by said programmed automaton (28).

7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the means for purifying the air discharged from said enclosure (12) is a means (17) for retaining the harmful particles of the exhaust air.

8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the means for purifying the air discharged from said enclosure (12) is a means (27) for decreasing the moisture content of the exhaust air.

9. Device according to claim 8, wherein said means (27) for decreasing the moisture content of the exhaust air is a device for separating drops by inertia consisting of a set of sinusoidal blades in which the droplets of water are trapped by their greater inertia and assemble to form a liquid driven by gravity to a retention tank (29).

10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a vacuum detector inside the enclosure provides a measure that adds to the conditions necessary for the door of the enclosure unlocks.

11. Device according to one of claims 4 to 10, wherein said opening control is manual and is associated with said opening control means mainly comprising a push button (25) whose depression by an operator causes the opening. sending a signal to said programmed PLC (28, 128) which causes the door opening command by said programmed PLC, said push button being a flashing light until the door is unlocked and remains lit permanently as soon as the door is unlocked.

12. Device according to one of claims 4 to 11, wherein said enclosure (12) is a refrigerator comprising a temperature sensor which provides a measurement of the temperature inside said enclosure which adds to the conditions necessary for that the door of said enclosure unlocks.

The device of claim 12, wherein said aperture control means also comprises an infrared detection cell or a presence detector.

Apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, wherein said opening command is automatic after a predetermined duration has elapsed during which no door opening command has been ordered.

15. Device according to one of claims 4 to 11, wherein said enclosure (12) is a dishwasher and wherein said air renewal device (110) is electronically connected to the electronic card (39) of said dishwasher .

The device of claim 15, wherein said automatic opening command is consecutive to the receiving an end of wash cycle signal (37) from said electronic board (39) of said dishwasher.

A device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein said unlocking conditions are dependent on data measured by sensors (31) on the temperature, the humidity and the rate of harmful particles of the charged air coming from the the interior of the dishwasher, said unlocking conditions being reached when said measured data each reaches a certain programmed threshold and stored in said programmed controller (128).

18. Device according to claim 15, 16 or 17, wherein said recovery tank (29) is connected to the emptying system of the dishwasher.

19. Device according to claim 18, wherein the emptying of said recovery tank (29) is automatically performed at the end of the ventilation cycle by a solenoid valve controlled by said programmed controller (128).