EP4269900A1 - Diffuser conduit for diffusing air conditioning - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a diffuser duct having a body (1) on a periphery of which a plurality of air diffusion orifices (2a, 2b) are formed, comprising two upper (4) and lower (5) horizontal rigid walls connected between them by two rigid side walls (6, 6'), at least one side wall (6, 6') extending along a continuous slope between the upper (4) and lower (5) walls of said body, so as to form a blowing angle (a; a') of between 1° and 150°.

Description

The invention relates to a diffuser duct intended to be connected to an air conditioning unit for diffusing air supplied by said unit in a zone of use, an air diffusion system comprising such a conditioning unit and a pipe comprising at least one such diffuser conduit, as well as a method of manufacturing such a diffuser conduit.

It applies in particular to systems arranged to diffuse treated air, in particular heated, cooled and/or purified, in a room of a building, in particular industrial, or possibly tertiary. Such systems can be used in factories or hangars, in order to purify the ambient air of impurities released by industrial activities, for example dust and/or any type of particle potentially harmful to human health.

Systems are known whose air diffusion pipe comprises at least one diffuser conduit arranged to diffuse conditioned air supplied by a suitable unit in the area of use, as well as at least one transfer conduit to which said conduit diffuser is connected, said transfer conduit being arranged to put said diffuser conduit into fluid communication with said unit.

For example, documents EP-2 224 183 And WO-93/15366 describe diffuser ducts which have a peripheral wall on which a plurality of air diffusion orifices are formed, an upstream end intended to be supplied with a flow of conditioned air coming from a unit and a downstream end opposite said end upstream in the direction of said air flow.

The air diffusion orifices are arranged, in particular by their dimensions and/or their arrangement on the duct, to deliver a high velocity air flow, so as to generate strong micro-swirls, which induces a significant depression near said orifices, and thus allows the suction of outside air by induction, in order to ensure a renewal of the ambient air present in the area of use by mixing the outside air sucked in with the air flow conditioned leaving said orifices.

The document US-5,054,379 further provides a diffuser duct comprising two upper and lower horizontal rigid walls connected together by two rigid side walls, said side walls each having a vertical upper portion and an oblique lower portion.

In particular, this document provides for equipping the lower wall and the oblique side portions with air diffusion orifices, which allows the duct to diffuse air with an extended angular range, and proves to be particularly advantageous for large diffusion zones.

The invention aims to improve the prior art by proposing a diffuser conduit arranged to diffuse conditioned air in zones of variable dimensions, in particular by being modular to be able to be easily adapted to several diffusion zones.

To this end, according to a first aspect, the invention proposes a diffuser conduit intended to be connected to an air conditioning unit to diffuse air supplied by said unit in a zone of use, said conduit having a body on a periphery of which a plurality of air diffusion orifices are formed, said body having an upstream end intended to be supplied with a flow of conditioned air coming from said unit and a downstream end opposite to said upstream end in the direction of said air flow, said body comprising two upper and lower horizontal rigid walls connected together by two rigid side walls, at least one side wall extending along a continuous slope between the upper and lower walls of said body, so as to form a blowing angle (a; a') between 1° and 150°, said angle being measured in a transverse section plane between a lower plane containing said side wall and an upper horizontal plane parallel to the upper and lower walls of the body.

According to a second aspect, the invention proposes an air diffusion system comprising an air conditioning unit and a pipe in fluidic communication with said unit for distributing the conditioned air from said unit in a zone of use, said pipe comprising at least one such diffuser conduit, as well as at least one transfer conduit to which the upstream end of said diffuser conduit is connected, said transfer conduit being arranged to put said diffuser conduit into fluid communication with said unit.

dans laquelle A correspond à la hauteur totale de la zone d'utilisation (en m), et B correspond à la portée de soufflage d'air diffusé par ledit conduit (en m) ; l'angle (a ; a') étant mesuré entre un plan inférieur contenant ladite paroi latérale et un plan horizontal supérieur parallèle aux parois inférieure et supérieure du corps.According to a third aspect, the invention proposes a method of manufacturing such a diffuser conduit, said method providing for forming the body of said conduit from four rigid walls each forming a side, upper or lower wall of the body of said conduit, said method providing for forming the body so that at least one side wall extends along a continuous slope between upper and lower horizontal walls of said body, said side wall forming, in a transverse sectional plane of said body, a blowing angle (a; a') which is determined from the following formula, for an air flow rate diffused by said duct greater than or equal to 1 m ³ /h: $$90-\mathrm{DEGREES}\left(\mathrm{ATAN}\left(\left(\mathrm{HAS}-2\right)/\mathrm{B}\right)\right)$$

in which A corresponds to the total height of the use zone (in m), and B corresponds to the blowing range of air diffused by said duct (in m); the angle (a; a') being measured between a lower plane containing said side wall and an upper horizontal plane parallel to the lower and upper walls of the body.

• les figures 1a, 1b et 1c représentent, en perspective suivant différentes vues, un conduit diffuseur selon un mode de réalisation de l'invention, respectivement à l'état assemblé (figures 1a, 1b) et à l'état éclaté (figure 1c) ;
• les figures 2a, 2b, 2c et 2d représentent chacune des zones de diffusion de différentes dimensions, chacune étant équipée d'au moins un conduit diffuseur de géométrie adaptée à ses dimensions.

Other particularities and advantages of the invention will appear in the description which follows, made with reference to the appended figures, in which:

• THE figures 1a, 1b and 1c represent, in perspective following different views, a diffuser conduit according to one embodiment of the invention, respectively in the assembled state ( figures 1a, 1b ) and in the exploded state ( figure 1c ) ;
• THE figures 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d each represent diffusion zones of different dimensions, each being equipped with at least one diffuser conduit of geometry adapted to its dimensions.

In relation to these figures, we describe below a diffuser conduit intended to be connected to an air conditioning unit to diffuse air supplied by said unit in a zone of use 3.

The diffuser duct comprises a body 1 of rigid material, in particular metallic, which has a periphery on which a plurality of air diffusion orifices 2a, 2b are formed, an upstream end intended to be supplied with a flow of conditioned air coming from of the conditioning unit, and a downstream end opposite said upstream end in the direction of said air flow. In particular, the body 1 can have a maximum transverse dimension of between 200 and 2000 mm.

The diffuser duct can in particular be used in an air diffusion system comprising a conditioning unit and a pipe comprising at least one such diffuser duct, said pipe being in fluid communication with said unit to distribute the conditioned air from said unit in the area of use by means of said diffuser conduit(s).

In particular, the pipeline of the distribution system may comprise at least one transfer conduit to which the upstream end of the diffuser conduit is connected, said transfer conduit being arranged to put said diffuser conduit into fluid communication with the conditioning unit of 'air.

In known manner, the system can be mounted in the upper part of a use zone 3, in particular on the ceiling 3a of a room, as shown in the figures 2a to 2d , and may include a pipe which has various arrangements, depending on the configuration of said room, the position of the conditioning unit and/or the ventilation requirements for said room.

• plusieurs conduits diffuseurs montés en série, éventuellement avec interposition d'un conduit de transfert entre deux conduits diffuseurs adjacents ; et/ou
• des conduits diffuseurs montés en parallèle (comme représenté sur la figure 2d), dont les extrémités amont respectives sont toutes connectées à un même conduit de transfert s'étendant perpendiculairement à la direction longitudinale de chacun desdits conduits diffuseurs.

Thus, the pipeline can include for example:

• several diffuser ducts mounted in series, possibly with the interposition of a transfer duct between two adjacent diffuser ducts; and or
• diffuser ducts mounted in parallel (as shown in the figure 2d ), the respective upstream ends of which are all connected to the same transfer conduit extending perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of each of said diffuser conduits.

To do this, the body 1 may comprise means for fixing to a ceiling 3a, said means being able in particular to be associated on an upper part of its periphery.

In the description, the terms of positioning in space, in particular the terms "upper" and "lower", are chosen in relation to the arrangement of the diffuser duct as shown in the figures, for arrangements respectively at the top and at the bottom in said figures. Furthermore, the terms “longitudinal” and “transverse” are taken with reference to the maximum dimension of the body 1 of the diffuser duct, and relate to a direction respectively parallel and perpendicular to this maximum dimension.

The body 1 comprises two rigid horizontal walls, upper 4 and lower 5, connected together by two rigid side walls 6, 6'. The walls 4, 5, 6, 6' are each formed from a plate of metallic material, for example based on steel, in particular galvanized steel, stainless steel or aluminum.

In particular, the upper wall 4 can be equipped with means as described above, to ensure the fixing of the conduit to a ceiling 3a.

At least one side wall 6, 6' comprises at least two rows of diffusion orifices 2a, 2b which extend longitudinally at least over a lower part of said side wall, in order to allow the diffusion of an air flow conditioned towards the bottom of the area of use, in particular when said diffuser duct is mounted on the ceiling of a room.

Advantageously, each side wall 6, 6' comprises two rows of diffusion orifices 2a, 2b.

The diffuser duct may also comprise at least two networks of air diffusion orifices 2a, 2b of different dimensions, the arrangement of which on said duct is adapted according to the needs in terms of distribution of conditioned air.

In the figures, a side wall 6' is shown with two upper rows 7a and two lower rows 7b of small-sized diffusion orifices 2a, as well as a central row 8 of larger-sized diffusion orifices 2b.

Furthermore, the upper wall 4 comprises two rows 7c of small diffusion orifices 2a, which extend along one of its longitudinal edges.

In the embodiment shown, the walls 4, 5, 6, 6' are formed of independent plates, associated together by screwing along their adjacent longitudinal edges. To do this, as shown in the figure 1c , each side wall 6, 6' comprises two rows 9 of fixing holes which each extend over the entire length of their respectively upper and lower longitudinal edge.

Likewise, the upper 4 and lower 5 walls each have two folds 10 formed by stamping on each of their longitudinal edges, so as to extend respectively downwards and upwards, and in the same sagittal plane as the upper edge or lower of the adjacent side wall 6, 6', said folds each being provided with a complementary row 11 of fixing orifices extending over their entire length.

Thus, the walls 4, 5, 6, 6' can be assembled by placing the folds 10 of the horizontal walls 4, 5 in transverse contact with the adjacent longitudinal edges of the side walls 6, 6', so as to transversely align the fixing holes of rows 9, 11, in order to be able to fix said walls by screwing into said aligned holes.

In addition, at least one wall 4, 5, 6, 6' comprises a row of orifices 12 formed on its extreme upstream and/or downstream edge, in order to allow the fixing of the conduit to the conditioning unit, directly or by via a transfer conduit as described above, and/or at the upstream end of another diffuser conduit.

In the figures, each wall 4, 5, 6, 6' has a fold 13 formed by stamping on each of its end edges, so as to extend transversely towards the outside of the conduit, each fold 13 being provided with a row of fixing holes 12 which extends all along its maximum dimension.

In particular, the conduit comprises eight angular connection pieces 14 which are each fixed at the intersection between two adjacent extreme folds 13 after assembly of the body 1, in order to conceal the projecting ends which remain at said intersections.

• pliages transversaux successifs de ladite feuille, notamment au moyen d'une machine de type « ligne à gaine rectangulaire compacte », telle que par exemple la machine LGC1500 de la société Jouanel^® ;
• jonction des bords libres transversaux de ladite feuille, notamment par sertissage au moyen d'une machine adaptée ;
• éventuellement, raidissage trapézoïdal du conduit ainsi obtenu.

According to a variant not shown, the body 1 can be manufactured from a single rectangular sheet of metallic material, in particular chosen from the materials described above, and in which the walls 4, 5, 6, 6' are formed by:

• successive transverse folding of said sheet, in particular by means of a “compact rectangular sheath line” type machine, such as for example the LGC1500 machine from the company Jouanel ^® ;
• joining the transverse free edges of said sheet, in particular by crimping using a suitable machine;
• possibly, trapezoidal stiffening of the conduit thus obtained.

At least one side wall 6, 6' extends along a continuous slope between the upper walls 4 and lower walls 5, so as to form a blowing angle a, a' of between 1° and 150°, and in particular of between 35 ° and 135°, said angle being measured in a transverse sectional plane of the conduit and between a lower plane PL, PL' containing said side wall and an upper horizontal plane P parallel to said upper and lower walls.

In the figures, the horizontal plane P considered contains the upper wall 4, and the angle a, a' is measured at the intersection between this plane P and the lower portion of the lateral plane PL, PL' which extends under said plan P.

This arrangement makes it possible to effectively orient the side blowing wall(s) 6, 6' towards one or more side part(s) 3b of the use zone 3, in order to guarantee a better overall ventilation in said area. In particular, the blowing angle a, a' is chosen according to at least one dimension H, L of the zone of use 3, in order to be able to adapt the duct to said zone.

Advantageously, each of the side walls 6, 6' extends along a continuous slope between the upper and lower walls 4, each defining a blowing angle a, a' as described previously.

On the figures 1a, 1b, 1c , 2a, 2b and 2c , the diffuser duct has two continuous side walls 6, 6' whose respective blowing angles a, a' are identical, which makes it suitable for being arranged in a middle part of the ceiling 3a of a room 3, and in particular the along a median sagittal plane of said part.

On the figure 2d , the part 3 is equipped with a central conduit 1a with side walls 6, 6' oriented according to identical blowing angles a, a', as well as two side conduits 1b whose respective side walls 6, 6' have different blowing angles a, a', including a substantially straight interior blowing angle and an acute exterior blowing angle.

In particular, the lateral ducts 1b have respectively interior and exterior blowing angles which are equal to each other, which gives to the pipe shown on the figure 2d a symmetrical arrangement with respect to a median sagittal plane S of part 3.

We now describe a method of manufacturing a diffuser conduit according to the invention.

The method provides for forming the body 1 of the conduit with four rigid walls 4, 5, 6, 6' each forming a side wall 6, 6', upper 4 or lower 5 of said body.

To do this, the walls 4, 5, 6, 6' can each be manufactured by cutting from a sheet of suitable metallic material, then machining, in particular by stamping, in order to form the network(s) of diffusion orifice(s) 7a, 7b, 7c, 8 and the necessary fixing orifices 9, 11, 12.

Then, as shown in the figures 1a to 1c , the walls 4, 5, 6, 6' are assembled by means of their longitudinal fixing holes 9, 11 to form the body 1.

• découper, dans une bande de matériau adapté, une feuille destinée à former le corps 1 du conduit, en sélectionnant les dimensions désirées pour ladite feuille au moyen de la console de commande de la machine de mise en forme du corps 1;
• usiner ladite feuille, notamment par emboutissage, afin d'y former le(s) réseau(x) d'orifice(s) de diffusion 7a, 7b, 7c, 8 ;
• plier transversalement ladite feuille pour y former les quatre parois 4, 5, 6, 6' ;
• joindre les bords transversaux libres de ladite feuille, notamment par sertissage, pour obtenir le corps 1.

Alternatively, the body 1 can be formed from a single sheet of metallic material by means of machines as described above, which include technical means adapted to be able to successively carry out the following steps:

• cut, from a strip of suitable material, a sheet intended to form the body 1 of the conduit, selecting the desired dimensions for said sheet by means of the control console of the machine for shaping the body 1;
• machine said sheet, in particular by stamping, in order to form the network(s) of diffusion orifice(s) 7a, 7b, 7c, 8;
• fold said sheet transversely to form the four walls 4, 5, 6, 6';
• join the free transverse edges of said sheet, in particular by crimping, to obtain body 1.

In particular, this process is carried out so as to obtain a conduit of which at least one side wall 6, 6' extends continuously between the upper walls 4 and lower walls 5, forming a blowing angle a, a' such that described previously.

dans laquelle :

• A correspond à la hauteur totale H de la zone d'utilisation 3 (en m), à laquelle ledit conduit doit être installé ;
• B correspond à la portée de soufflage d'air diffusé par ledit conduit (en m), ladite portée étant liée à la dimension transversale L de la zone d'utilisation 3 dudit conduit.

This blowing angle a, a' depends in particular on the dimensions H, L of the use zone 3 where the duct must be installed, and is determined from the following formula, for an air flow diffused by said upper duct or equal to 1 m ³ /h: $$90-\mathrm{DEGREES}\left(\mathrm{ATAN}\left(\left(\mathrm{HAS}-2\right)/\mathrm{B}\right)\right)$$

in which :

• A corresponds to the total height H of the use zone 3 (in m), at which said conduit must be installed;
• B corresponds to the blowing range of air diffused by said duct (in m), said range being linked to the transverse dimension L of the use zone 3 of said duct.

• convertir en degrés une valeur d'angle exprimée en radians ; et
• renvoyer l'arctangente d'un nombre déterminé, en fournissant un résultat en radians compris entre -π/2 et π/2.

In this formula, the terms DEGRES and ATAN are functions commonly used in software or tabulation applications, such as for example the Excel application from Microsoft, and allow respectively to:

• convert an angle value expressed in radians into degrees; And
• return the arctangent of a given number, providing a result in radians between -π/2 and π/2.

As shown on the figures 2a to 2d , the value of the angle a, a' varies as a function of the height H of the conduit installation part 3, which is greater than or equal to 2 meters, and in a range of values in degrees between 1° and 150°, and preferably between 35° and 135°. In particular, the greater the height H of part 3, the more the value of the angle a, a' decreases.

Claims (12)

Diffuser conduit intended to be connected to an air conditioning unit to diffuse air supplied by said unit in a zone of use (3), said conduit having a body (1) on a periphery of which a plurality of air diffusion orifices (2a, 2b) are formed, said body having an upstream end intended to be supplied with a flow of conditioned air coming from said unit and a downstream end opposite to said upstream end in the direction of said air flow. air, said body comprising two upper (4) and lower (5) horizontal rigid walls connected to each other by two rigid side walls (6, 6'), said diffuser conduit being characterized in that at least one side wall (6, 6') extends along a continuous slope between the upper (4) and lower (5) walls of said body, so as to form a blowing angle (a; a') of between 1° and 150°, said angle being measured in a transverse sectional plane between a lower plane (PL, PL') containing said side wall and an upper horizontal plane (P) parallel to the upper (4) and lower (5) walls of the body (1). Diffuser conduit according to claim 1, characterized in that the blowing angle (a; a') is between 35° and 135°. Diffuser conduit according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that each of the side walls (6, 6') extends along a continuous slope between the upper (4) and lower (5) walls of the body (1) , each forming in a transverse section plane an angle (a; a') of between 1° and 150°, said angle being measured between a lower plane (PL, PL') containing the side wall (6, 6') corresponding and an upper horizontal plane (P) parallel to the upper (4) and lower (5) walls of the body (1). Diffuser conduit according to claim 3, characterized in that the respective blowing angles (a; a') of the side walls (6, 6') are identical. Diffuser conduit according to claim 3, characterized in that the respective blowing angles (a; a') of the side walls (6, 6') are different. Diffuser conduit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one side wall (6, 6') comprises at least two rows (7a, 7b, 8) of diffusion orifices (2a, 2b ) which extend longitudinally at least over a lower part of said side wall. Diffuser conduit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises at least two networks (7a, 7b, 7c, 8) of diffusion orifices (2a, 2b) of different dimensions. Diffuser conduit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the walls (4, 5, 6, 6') are each formed from a plate of metallic material. Diffuser conduit according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the walls (4, 5, 6, 6') are associated along their adjacent longitudinal edges. Diffuser conduit according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that at least one wall (4, 5, 6, 6') comprises a row of orifices (12) formed on its extreme upstream edge and/or downstream, in order to allow the fixing of said conduit to the conditioning unit and/or to the upstream end of another diffuser conduit. Air diffusion system comprising an air conditioning unit and a pipe in fluid communication with said unit for distributing the conditioned air from said unit in a zone of use, said pipe comprising at least one diffuser conduit (1a, 1b, 1c) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, as well as at least one transfer conduit to which the upstream end of said diffuser conduit is connected, said transfer conduit being arranged to put said diffuser conduit into fluid communication with said unit. Method of manufacturing a diffuser conduit according to any one of claims 1 to 0, said method providing for forming the body (1) of said conduit from four rigid walls (4, 5, 6, 6') each forming a side wall (6, 6'), upper (4) or lower (5) of said body, said method being characterized in that it provides for forming the body (1) so that at least one side wall (6, 6') extends along a continuous slope between the upper (4) and lower (5) horizontal walls of said body, said side wall forming, in a transverse sectional plane of said body, a blowing angle (a; a') which is determined from the following formula, for an air flow rate diffused by said duct greater than or equal to 1 m ³ /h:
90-DEGREES(ATAN((A-2)/B)); in which A corresponds to the total height of the use zone (in m), and B corresponds to the blowing range of air diffused by said duct (in m); the angle (a; a') being measured between a lower plane (PL, PL') containing said side wall and an upper horizontal plane (P) parallel to the lower (5) and upper (4) walls of the body (1) .

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