FI119612B - Hardware for cooling the space - Google Patents

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the temperature of a space, wherein the liquid supplied through the apparatus is used to cool the room temperature.

5 Description of the Related Art

A solution in which the room temperature is controlled by means of an element arranged in the space is known. The element comprises a channel for circulating fluid through the element. If there is a need to heat the space, hot fluid is supplied to the element's inlet duct which, when flowing in the duct, heats at least a portion of the element, thereby controlling the space temperature toward the fluid, i.e., heating the space. From the outlet of the element, the fluid is returned through the piping to the apparatus, where the fluid is reheated before being reheated to the element once it is reheated. Similarly, if there is a need to cool the space, cold liquid is supplied to the element channel, by means of which the temperature of the element and the space can be lowered. From the outlet of the element, the fluid is returned from the cooling devices, which cool the fluid before being re-cooled to the element.

An element of the kind described above can be arranged, for example, on the ceiling of a space. The element may also have a flow port for air flow, whereby the temperature of the air stream flowing into the space through the flow port is controlled by the fluid flowing through the channel of the element. By doing so, the room temperature control makes for a comfortable stay.

The problem of the known solution described above is the dimensioning of the element. For example, in order to obtain sufficient heating under all conditions, the 25 elements must be dimensioned quite large. This means that you also need to dimension your fluid circulation to ensure sufficient power. The end result is thus a relatively large element and, in addition, a bulky piping system for supplying and removing a sufficient amount of fluid to the element. The large size of the element and the piping not only increase the hardware costs, but also require a lot of space in the building, which reduces the usable space of the building.

EP-A-1 039 249 and FR-A-1 565 547 are previously known as heating apparatus in which a space heating element is combined with a floor heating element and from EP-A-899 515 a floor or ceiling mounted element. These publications do not teach you how to make a roof element cooling unit efficient and space-saving.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the problem described above and to provide a solution that effectively cools the space while minimizing hardware costs and space required for piping. This object is achieved by the solution according to the appended independent claim 1.

In the invention, in addition to the roof element arranged in the space, the floor element arranged in the floor structure is utilized in the space cooling.

When the roof element and the floor element are chained to the same fluid circulation so that the liquid leaving the outlet of one is fed to the inlet of the other, a solution is obtained which utilizes a greater part of the cooling potential 15 of the recycled liquid. This allows the roof element to be installed in the space to be scaled smaller than in prior art solutions, since the element in question does not have to worry alone that the desired temperature will be reached throughout the room under all conditions. The smaller element also reduces the amount of fluid needed, allowing the pipeline to be reduced in size. This results in savings in hardware costs and further reduces the space required for the piping.

Preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention are apparent from the appended dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a first preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention; Figure 2 illustrates a second preferred embodiment of the apparatus;

3

Description of at least one embodiment

Figure 1 illustrates a first preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention. In the following, the embodiment of Figure 1 will first be described, assuming that space 1 needs to be heated. Room 1 may consist of a single room or, alternatively, a larger room, such as an open-plan office or lounge.

The element 1 shown in Fig. 1 is a roof element arranged in connection with the ceiling elements 2. From the heating system located separately from the shown space, warm liquid is supplied through piping 3 to the inlet 4 of the element 10. From the opening 4, the warm fluid passes into the duct 5 of the element 1 where it is heated by at least a portion of the element. supply airflow to the space. The fluid circulating in the duct 5 warms this air stream before it reaches the flow port 6 to the space. However, the air flow 15 and the flow port are not necessary for the invention, but the element can also act as a heater from which the heat supplied by the flowing liquid radiates into the space without generating an air flow.

Airflow can be achieved by connecting element 1 to a building ventilation system which, through a pipe 7, supplies 20 fresh air to the space through a flow port 6. Alternatively, it may be an in-room air circulation, whereby the element 1 may have a fan and an inlet through which the fan draws air from the space and, after heating, be fed back into the space through a flow opening 6.

Unlike in the case of Figure 1, the air flow through the flow port may also be a secondary flow. The fresh air flow into the space of the building ventilation system then generates a secondary flow through the element, the temperature of which is controlled (heated or cooled) by the fluid flowing through the element's duct before the secondary flow enters the space through the flow opening in the element. For example, ceiling-mounted elements that cool the air in the room always cause a secondary flow. Secondary air is the space air that is induced through an element and cooled or warmed by the element. f

During the circulation in the duct 5, the slightly cooled liquid j is discharged through the outlet 8 to the supply pipeline 9. In the prior art solutions, this supply pipeline 9 returns the liquid to the heating and heating apparatus 4 for reheating. However, in the embodiment of Figure 1, this supply pipeline 9 supplies a state of fluid returning from the element 1 to the inlet 12 of the floor element 11 provided in the floor structure 10.

The floor element 11 includes a channel 13 through which the fluid 5 heats the floor element 11 and the floor structure 10 surrounding the floor element before it exits the floor element through an outlet 14.

The liquid exiting through the outlet 14 is led through the piping 15 to the heating system of the building for reheating. The floor element 11 can be practically implemented by the solutions of the prior art, i.e., for example, 10 by arranging in the floor structure a curved plastic pipe through which the liquid is fed.

Thanks to the floor heating element 11, the desired part of the floor can be heated. Typically, such a location where the desired floor heating is desired is located at the outside wall and especially at the window 18. Thus, sufficient heating-15 ho can be precisely targeted at this point by the floor heating element 11, so that the element 1 in the space does not have to be dimensioned so that the required temperature is also achieved at the floor level at that point under all conditions. Because the underfloor heating element is arranged at just the right place, the required heating is already achieved with the relatively low-power lat-20 underfloor heating element.

The apparatus of Figure 1 also includes a thermostat 16 and a control unit 17. The control unit 17 may be integrated into the element 1 as shown in Figure 1 or, alternatively, a control unit separate from the element 1 may be provided. In the case of Fig. 1, the control unit 17 includes, for example, a valve 25 for restricting the fluid circulation and an electronic unit which controls the flow restricting valve based on the setpoint of the thermostat 16 and the measured temperature values for restricting the liquid circulation and thereby controlling the temperature.

Thereby, both the fluid circulation of the element 1 and the fluid circulation of the floor element 11 are constricted. I

The control unit 17 may further control other devices arranged in connection with the element 1. Such devices may be, for example, a fan or lamps. j

If it is necessary to cool the space shown in Figure 1, this will be similar to what has been described above, with the exception that in the pipelines shown, cold liquid is circulated instead of warm. It is conceivable that the cold liquid circulation is carried out with the same tubes as the warm liquid circulation. Alternatively, element 1, floor element 11 and / or the building may have different piping and ducts for hot and cold fluid.

Above, with reference to Figure 1, by way of example, it is shown that the element 5 is arranged specifically in the space ceiling. However, this is only an example. According to the invention, it is also conceivable that this is, for example, a roof element which is only fixed to the ceiling of the space without being in connection with the ceiling (miniature ceiling is not necessary for the invention) or a wall element, in its simplest form.

It is conceivable that the flow direction of the fluid is in the opposite direction to that shown in the arrows in Figure 1 in connection with the pipelines. Again, the element 1 and the floor element 11 are chained, i.e. arranged in the same fluid circulation. However, in the direction of rotation of the fluid, there is first a floor element 11 15 and then an element 1 arranged in the space.

Figure 2 illustrates another preferred embodiment of the invention.

The embodiment of Fig. 2 corresponds very closely to the embodiment of Fig. 1, therefore, in the following, the embodiment of Fig. 2 will be described primarily by highlighting the differences between these embodiments.

In the embodiment of Figure 2, the apparatus includes at least one valve 20 and a bypass tube 21. In this case, the valve 20 and the bypass tube 21 can be used to interrupt the fluid flow through the floor element 11 while the fluid flow continues through the element 1. An alternative to achieve this is to use as a valve 20 a three-way valve disposed in the feed pipe 9 between the outlet opening 8 of the element 1 and the inlet 12 of the floor element 11 to interrupt the flow path to the inlet 12 of the floor element.

The embodiment of Fig. 2 is advantageous if it is desired to enable the use of the element 1 located in the space without the floor element 11 being in use at the same time. One possibility is that the control unit 17 controls the valve 20 so that only the element 1 is in operation as long as the equipment is heated.

the fraction of the heating or cooling capacity used is below a certain threshold (eg less than 70%). Only when the limit value is exceeded does the floor element become engaged to heat or cool the space. j \ \ \ j 6

Figure 3 illustrates another preferred embodiment of the invention.

The embodiment of Fig. 3 is very similar to the embodiment of Fig. 2, therefore, the embodiment of Fig. 3 will be described below primarily by highlighting the differences between these embodiments.

The embodiment of Fig. 3 differs from the embodiment of Fig. 2 in the opposite direction of the fluid circulation. Thus, the floor element 11 'is located in the direction of fluid circulation before the element 1' provided in the space.

Due to the deviation in the direction of the fluid circulation, the valve 20 and the bypass conduit 21 through which the fluid flow can be interrupted from the floor element 11 '10 while the fluid flow continues in element 1' are located at different locations than in FIG. The bypass pipe 21, in turn, directs the flow from the inlet pipe to the feed pipe port 9 between the floor element 1V and the element 1 'when the control unit 17 has closed the flow 15 to the floor element 11'.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and the accompanying figures are merely intended to illustrate the present invention. Various variations and modifications of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

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Claims (8)

Device for cooling a space, said device comprising at least one roof element (1, 1 ') for device in connection with the space roof, said roof element comprising an inlet opening (4) for receiving a cold liquid flow, a channel! (5) for circulating potassium liquid through the element (1,1 ') for cooling the space via the element, and an outlet opening (8) for removing the element of potassium liquid circulating in the duct, further characterized in that the device further comprises: A floor element (11, 11 ') for device in the floor structure (10) of said space, said floor element (11, 11') comprising an inlet opening (12) for receiving a potassium liquid flow, a channel (13) for circulating received potassium liquid in the floor element (11, 11 ') to cool the floor via the floor element, and an outlet opening (14) to remove from the floor element potassium liquid circulating in the duct (13), and a supply pipe system (9) which connecting the channels (5, 13) of said elements (1, 1 ') and floor elements (11, 11') to each other via their inlet and outlet openings such that potassium liquid removed from one (1; 1Γ) of the -sa via the outlet opening is guided through the feed pipe system (9) n another (11.1 ') inlet port. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said feeding pipe system (9) connects the outlet opening (8) of said element (1) to the inlet opening (12) of said floor element (11). Device according to any of claims 1-2, characterized in that said floor element (11, 11 ') is a floor element for device in the floor structure under a window (18) in the space. Device according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that said device is a heating and cooling device for the space for measuring a liquid which is warmer than the air in the space when the device is used for heating the space, and colder than the air in the room where the arrangement is used for cooling the space. Device according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that said element (1, 1 ') comprises a flow opening (6) for inputting an air flow into said space, the duct (5) being arranged to direct the temperature of the air flowing from the flow opening (6) to the temperature of the liquid flowing in the duct (5). Device according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the device comprises at least one valve (20) and a guiding tube (21) having the said fluid flow through the channel of the floor element (11, 11 ')! may be interrupted while the flow of liquid through the channel (5) of said element (1) continues through the bypass tube (21). Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the device comprises a control unit (17) arranged to control said at least one valve (20) to interrupt said fluid flow through the floor element (11, 11 ') where the portion in use of the device's heat or cooling capacity falls below a predetermined limit value. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that said control unit (17) is integrated in said element (1,1 ').