IT202100021506A1 - GLASS FOR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS - Google Patents

Description

TITLE: GLAZING FOR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS

DESCRIPTION

Technical Sector of the Invention

The general scope of application of the present invention is the air conditioning sector of closed environments. In particular, the invention focuses on the problems associated with the presence of glass; in fact, the latter constitute an element in which the heat exchange with the external environment? particularly critical, given that the propagation of heat by radiation represents a problem that cannot be eliminated.

Known technique

The brightness? of closed environments? one of the features more appreciated when evaluating and choosing a property. The brightness? natural of an internal environment, combined with the possibility? to broaden the gaze outside, ? certainly a highly sought-after prerogative in the building sector. Therefore many projects of habitable buildings, both those intended for residential purposes and those intended for other purposes, often provide for the presence of large windows, which must therefore be provided with suitable frames.

Among the most habitable environments? satisfying from the point of view of aesthetic pleasantness are also included cos? called verandas, i.e. environments with entire sides made up of windows, which offer a view of the external environment similar to that which one would have from a completely open terrace.

However, in the modern conception of habitable environments, at least two other needs are now consolidated, which are generally in conflict with the request for large windows or even veranda rooms; or:

? the need to have an air-conditioned environment, in which the living comfort, the temperature and the quality? of? the air are controllable with systems more and more? sophisticated, e

? the need to create buildings that are attentive to energy efficiency, avoiding the most possible high energy consumption for heating and cooling. How already? said, these two needs are in contrast with the request for large windows or even rooms with verandas, given that the windows are surfaces where ? much more complex to control the heat exchange, and therefore ? difficult to contain the energy dissipation caused by unwanted heat losses.

As regards the problem of heating the internal environment when the external temperature is ? more cold, can you? state that the prior art offers double or triple glazed windows which guarantee excellent thermal insulation performance. Even the fixtures, that is? the solid structures, which are anchored to the edges of the holes in the walls, and which support the closing elements of the holes themselves (the windows or doors and windows), are made with materials that guarantee excellent thermal insulation performance.

In general, can you? therefore affirming that the transmission of heat by contact is managed in a satisfactory way today by using the materials now also made available by the market; not the same you can? For? assert with respect to the transmission of heat by radiation.

In fact, the transparency of the windows ? one of their sought-after characteristics, and therefore the sun's rays inevitably radiate inside the rooms that have large windows. Therefore, there is no solution to the fact that the interior of the rooms with large windows heats up on sunny days.

If you want to create an air-conditioned environment, maintaining a pleasant temperature in the internal environment, even when it is very hot outside, air conditioning systems must be provided, and these must be designed in such a way as to be as efficient as possible. energy efficient as possible.

The cooling methods pi? efficient they resort to the installation in the environments to be cooled of slight currents of forced ventilation. Without going into the details of the complex matter of cooling internal environments, we simply underline how it is evidently advantageous to establish air currents in which the air is cooler. hot leaves the environment, while more air is introduced in its place. cool, usually air conditioned.

In the case of environments that heat up due to the effect of radiation that penetrates through windows, and above all in air-conditioned rooms through machines that introduce fresh air into the environment from points relatively distant from the windows, ? legitimate to assume that the air pi? close to the window is more? hot, and that this, due to natural convective motions, tends to accumulate in areas near of the side more at the top of the windows.

In summary, can you? affirm that the main solutions offered by the known art to refresh an internal environment when this is? flooded by solar radiation, even intense, which penetrates this environment through large windows, are based on thermal insulation by contact, so to avoid heat exchanges due to the different temperatures between the internal environment and the external environment, but efficient solutions are not offered to counteract the heating of the internal environment caused by solar radiation that penetrates through the windows.

The use of insulating glass? in any case necessary when using cooled air conditioning; Indeed ? a notion well known to every user of air conditioning systems is the fact that these are effective only in environments where the windows are tightly closed, but, in the presence of strong radiation, the consumption required to keep the internal temperature cool is considerable, especially if the windows from which can? penetrate the? irradiation have large surfaces.

As said against heating by radiation there are few countermeasures, and the only solution? that of darkening the room by reducing the radiation itself.

In this regard, especially if it is not intended to completely darken the room (a measure that would go against some of the reasons why the windows themselves are designed), the use of shading curtains is often used.

Also with reference to this expedient, the prior art offers quite interesting solutions, for example by proposing fabrics for curtains with properties particular filters which almost completely block non-visible radiations (infrared and ultraviolet), and which only partially reduce visible radiations. In this way many contributions to the heating are subtracted without darkening the room too much, and in any case allowing a weakened light to filter through which, in certain circumstances, also appears to have an aesthetic effect of pleasant dim light. In conclusion, the road that can? be used to efficiently air-condition and cool an internal environment with many windows consists in resorting to the combination of various measures: thermal insulation with respect to heat transfer by contact, the use of technical curtains to reduce radiation, the use of machines generating fresh air conditioning, and a wise use of forced ventilation systems.

These precautions indicate the road that must necessarily be followed to air-condition rooms with large windows. However, as in all cases in which the solution of a technical problem involves the combination of various measures, is the risk ? that the result is too dependent on professionalism? of those who design the air conditioning of the system, and not ? It is easy to introduce systems on the market that can be installed with relative ease, while guaranteeing good performance both in terms of comfort and energy efficiency.

Ultimately, the known art proposes many components which allow to manage the air conditioning of internal environments with many windows. Maybe for this too, the problem? always been considered as a complex problem, to be tackled essentially on a case-by-case basis.

For each component, considered individually, there are solutions with ever better performance. In fact, the research proposes technical fabrics to make curtains with properties? filters more and more effective, proposes systems of introduction of conditioned air more and more? energy efficient, so? as well as forced ventilation systems, which often also integrate air sanitization functions, are subject to continuous innovation.

I'm not for? offered systems that allow you to create even very large windows by integrating directly on the material to be installed (in a standardized way) various functional subsystems to implement the four main measures to manage cooling (air conditioning, radiation shielding and air recirculation). air, and insulation from heat propagation by contact). This why? Yes ? always approached the problem as if it had to be solved by combining the various measures differently from case to case.

In fact, the consequence under everyone's eyes? that, in many practical realizations that can be found in the real world, ? It is very common for certain internal environments with large windows to be air-conditioned at the expense of very high energy consumption, or these environments are not used in certain seasons and at certain hours of the day, precisely because excessively hot, as you choose not to air-condition them. Indeed, not always ? Is it possible to address the problem of conditioning by having the professional skills? requests, or more? simply, you do not install air conditioning systems why? the costs of the solution are too high.

Purpose and summary of the invention

The general purpose of the present invention ? to offer a glazed system that integrates the main functionalities? necessary to manage the radiant heating of an internal environment delimited by at least one glass; that is, this glazed system must make use of means for shielding from radiation through curtains, and must be arranged to create a forced ventilation subsystem, for the exchange of hot air, so as to to limit at least the propagation of heat in the internal environment by convection and by contact (with hot air).

Another object of the present invention is that of implementing said glazing system through elements of very small dimensions, so that the plant engineering part is not noticed, and the system is suitable for use for the glazing of environments, such as for example verandas in which the aesthetic result must give the impression of lightness and essentiality.

Above all, the encumbrance of the installation component of the glazed systems according to the invention must not be a reason for problems of an architectural nature concerning the organization of spaces. In fact, the mechanical and plant engineering part envisaged for the implementation of this glazing system must appear substantially invisible, and the installation of the glazing must be substantially similar to the installation of normal window frames with glazing.

Pi? precisely, it is emphasized that this glazing system must be able to be installed by generic installer workers, without the need to having to resort to case-by-case planning to integrate the various elements that make up the system itself; and this must be considered to all intents and purposes an important objective of the present invention.

How already? said, the glazing system according to the invention must be able to be installed almost like a generic fixture, even if it is much more than a normal window, as it must also include a curtain to shield the solar radiation, as well as some essential elements to establish correct forced ventilation of the internal environment.

Furthermore, the system as a whole must be designed to support automatisms in its functionality, so? to implement programs to achieve adequate levels of comfort, while optimizing energy consumption.

Finally, a further object of the present invention relates to aspects related to ease of use. process of the glazed system as a whole. In fact, how the ease? installation ? a requirement associated with market requirements and cost containment, also for the glass system it is required that it can be made with attention to costs, mainly using profiled elements, and making use of manufacturing technologies similar to those already typically used in the manufacture of window frames.

The objects set for this invention are achieved by means of a glazed system suitable to be installed to close off a habitable room, and which comprises at least one window frame and a glass plate supported by said window frame;

being said window characterized by the fact that its upper horizontal side comprises at least:

? a glass housing profile, shaped to hold the upper side of said glass plate;

? an internally hollow aeration chamber, arranged above said housing profile, which has an aspiration slit on its face facing the internal environment, able to let air coming from said habitable room enter into said aeration chamber, and an opening vent in its face facing outwards, and adapted to release air which is inside said aeration chamber;

? a ventilation subsystem installed inside said aeration chamber, capable of moving air, sucking it from said habitable environment, and causing it to flow towards the external environment;

? a housing for a rolled up curtain substantially as wide as said sheet of glass, said housing being positioned externally longitudinally alongside said aeration chamber;

? a roll-up awning that, when? completely rolled up, is it substantially contained inside said housing, and when is it? fully unrolled, it substantially covers the entirety of said glass plate.

The main advantage of the present invention consists in the fact that its teachings make it possible to create a glazed window with a very wide span, using a frame that integrates a plurality of of systems suitable for favoring optimal air conditioning of the habitable environment also delimited by said window. Furthermore, these systems (at least as regards those that must be located in correspondence with the window) are all integrated into the frame in a very discreet and substantially invisible way, thus being able to create very bright verandas, easily air-conditioned and with a very light aesthetic result (as is typically required for verandas).

This invention also has further advantages, which will be more evident from the following description, from an example of practical embodiment which illustrates further details, from the attached claims which form an integral part of the present description, and from the attached figures in which:

? Figure 1 shows an example of practical embodiment of a veranda closed on three sides by glass according to the invention.

? Figure 2 shows a section of the upper horizontal element of the frame included in the glazed window according to the invention.

Detailed description

In Figure 1 ? shown a typical case of application of the stained glass windows according to the invention: ? in fact represented through an overall sketch a veranda with three sides substantially closed by glass. ? clear that, on hot days when the sun beats down on the windows, the internal environment tends to heat up considerably.

From the representation presented in Figure 1 it is possible to immediately appreciate how the windows are aesthetically presented with an apparently very light structure, exactly as one expects when one thinks of a veranda, yet the windows represented also include in all respects the fundamental elements of some systems necessary for the efficient air conditioning of the internal environment.

In particular, with the number 110 ? indicated a glass plate of the glazed system according to the invention, with the number 120? indicated a curtain mounted outside the window, which rolls up in the upper part of the window and is? prepared to descend by unrolling, cos? to obscure, at least partially, the window itself when this? hit by intense solar radiation.

Finally, with the number 130 ? indicated a horizontal element placed along the upper side of a glass window, it is a housing for roll-up curtains, suitable for substantially containing the entire curtain when this is? fully rolled up.

However Figure 1 ? only a sketch of a realistic implementation form of stained glass according to the invention, and the purpose of the figure is ? essentially to provide an overview of these windows when they are mounted in a typical environment, which? a veranda.

In fact, the essential details of the invention are better presented with the aid of Figure 2, which shows a detail of the upper horizontal side of the frame included in the glazed system according to the invention.

In Figure 2 ? proposed a sectional view very schematic (and unrealistic) in which the purpose ? that of showing more clearly the characterizing details of the glazed system according to the invention.

With the number 110 ? the glass plate included in the window is always indicated; of said glass plate 110 can only be seen the upper part which ? retained by the upper part of the frame. Said glass plate 110 ? then mounted on a frame, whose upper horizontal side, ? the side on which the various characterizing details of the glazed system according to the invention are concentrated. This upper horizontal side ? evidently also? shown in cross section, ? indicated as a whole with the number 100, and ? highlighted within a dotted line.

Is the upper edge of the glass plate 110 ? housed in a suitable housing profile for the glass, indicated with the number 150. Said housing profile 150 ? provided with any necessary gaskets and performs the function of firmly retaining the glass plate 110, as typically occurs in any window or door frame.

The most characterizing feature of the glazed system according to the invention? constituted by the other characteristics of the upper horizontal side 100 of the frame, and which are formed above the housing profile 150.

From the sectional view, it can be seen that immediately above the housing profile 150 there is a tubular element, internally hollow which acts as an aeration chamber, and is indicated in Figure 2 with the number 140. Inside said aeration chamber 140 there is enough space to place a ventilation subsystem, indicated with the number 145. Said ventilation subsystem 145 ? feasible in a relatively simple way, for example with one or more? fans shaped so that, when they rotate, they draw in air from the internal environment side, and redirect it towards the outside. Obviously, said aeration chamber 140 must be equipped with suitable openings to allow the recirculation of the air: therefore the face of said aeration chamber 140 facing the internal environment has an aspiration slit, indicated in Figure 2 with the number 141 ; or said suction slit 142 consists of an area of said aeration chamber 140 which has or more? openings positioned in correspondence with the zones in which said ventilation subsystem 145 concentrates its suction force. Consequently, the face of said aeration chamber 140 facing outwards must there must be a vent opening, indicated in Figure 2 with the number 142, suitable for making the aspirated air flow outwards.

The apparent simplicity? of said aeration chamber 140, allows its manufacture to be facilitated (for example with simple sheet metal cutting and bending machines), however it has a series of expedients which combine perfectly with the other parts of the upper side 100 of the frame, in so as to admirably achieve, and with excellent synergy of effects, all the objectives set in the conception stage of the invention.

In particular, the positioning of said aeration chamber 140 is located in a very advantageous area in which to draw the air in a cooling context. Indeed yes ? said that the cooling of rooms with large windows must take advantage of a combination of tricks, and among these? it is inevitable to introduce air conditioning (fresh) into the environment; and if the fresh air is introduced in an area not too close to the windows, ? practically sure that, when the solar radiation heats the internal environment, the air more? will you come hot? to find near? of the windows and above (due to the effect of the convective motions which make the warmer air circulate from the bottom to the top); therefore the suction effected by the aeration chamber 140 does not require? of particular suction force as it suffices that it sucks in the air which is located in the vicinity of the suction slot 142. In this way, therefore, by introducing fresh air into a point of the room not quite close to the suction chamber 140 (or to the chambers suction chambers, in the case of environments with many windows, such as verandas for example), and by sucking the air through said suction chambers 140, it is possible to establish a pleasant forced ventilation, also very efficient, with few elements, and with flows of air not excessively powerful. Flanked to the external face 142 of said aeration chamber 140, ? there is another hollow element, indicated in Figure 2 with the number 130; it is a housing element with sufficient capacity to contain a rolled up curtain, also indicated in Figure 2 with the number 120. Said housing element 130, therefore, does not cover the glass plate 110, so that it is not covered. when the tent 120 ? fully rolled up, the light of the glazing is not reduced.

Said housing 130 for the curtain 120 must evidently have an opening facing downwards, necessary to let the curtain 120 go down when it is unrolled to shield the glass plate 110 because the solar radiation that would invest it is too intense, compared to the conditions of comfort that one intends to obtain in the internal environment.

Through this opening, therefore pu? also flow the air expelled from said aeration chamber 140 through said vent opening 142, so that the air extracted from the internal environment can be dispersed outside.

Said upper horizontal side 100 of the fixtures that make up the glazing systems according to the invention, for what has just been explained, makes it possible to create an overall system which exploits the shielding of solar radiation by means of curtains, which induces a very efficient and simple forced ventilation, and which makes best use of the effect of a fresh air conditioner placed inside the environment to be conditioned, allowing both the conditioner and the ventilation subsystem 145 to operate at relatively low power levels.

Furthermore, the glazed system according to the invention lends itself to automating a fairly efficient air conditioning process, simply by having automatic actuators which move the curtain 120, and which switch on and off both the air conditioning diffuser and the ventilation 145.

In fact, in the preferred embodiments, the glazed system as a whole also comprises an actuator which can be controlled to lower (unroll it) and raise (roll it up) the curtain 120 and a switch which can be controlled to switch the ventilation subsystem 145 on and off.

It is noted that all these automatisms are available in compact form, and therefore can certainly be integrated into the glazed system according to the invention without actually increasing the overall dimensions of the glazed system, nor? significantly affecting costs.

Having these actuators available, and making use only of absolutely simple sensors such as a thermostat to be installed inside the room to be air-conditioned and, possibly, a solar radiation detector, ? it is certainly possible to implement a very effective and efficient air conditioning procedure.

Therefore, calculation means, which do not require particularly powerful performance requirements, and sensors of various kinds are also elements to be considered included in the preferred embodiments of the present invention. In fact, one of the main strengths of this glazed system ? just the ease? with which it can be managed automatically by means of simple programs which, according to data detected by sensors such as a temperature sensor (for example a thermometer or a thermostat) and, possibly, a solar radiation detector, control the subsystems included in the glazing system according to the ?invention.

Broadly speaking, these air conditioning procedures, depending on the exceeding of pre-set temperature thresholds, and possibly solar radiation (if this data is available), some measures are implemented, including:

? lowering the curtain 120 to shield the radiation;

? turning on the air conditioning diffuser, e

? switching on of the ventilation subsystem 145, which draws in the? air that is near? of the upper part of the windows, and expels it outside.

When the room temperature cools down sufficiently (also in this case the appropriate thresholds must be set) the curtains can be raised and the air conditioning and ventilation subsystems can be switched off, or they can be made to operate at lower regimes. low, with consequent containment of consumption.

? clear that having sensors for detecting solar radiation on individual windows, ? It is possible to lower the blinds 120 only in some windows. In general, being able to estimate with greater precision the contribution of heating of the internal environment due to solar radiation, more efficient air conditioning procedures can be implemented. articulated, in some cases you can? opt to lower only some curtains, or all, or none, or, in other cases, you can? instead avoid resorting to air conditioning, or again, ? is it possible to implement activation sequences of the various systems even more? complicated, especially if you have additional sensors, such as presence sensors, or even other sensors: for example, cooling the environment only in the presence of people.

? clear that the availability? of sensors? extremely useful for implementing increasingly more and more air conditioning processes? effective and efficient. In addition to the temperature sensor, what ? actually taken for granted in the context of air conditioning applications, ? undoubtedly recommended to have information on? intensity? of solar radiation; given that the use of screen curtains 120 ? essentially effective when the heating ? significantly attributable to the heat generated in the environment as a result of solar radiation.

How already? mentioned, therefore, it is very useful to have selective radiation measurements, associated with the individual windows, so as to be able to control and lower only the blinds placed on the windows which can actually contribute more to heating the internal environment, ie? those actually exposed to the radiation pi? or less direct; without reducing the brightness? of the environment by lowering the curtains on the windows that overlook areas in the shade. There are various technologies that can be exploited to create solar radiation sensors, and which provide both? Intensity? that the prevailing direction of incidence; among these we highlight the technologies that are based on the photovoltaic effect, both for their precision and for their easy integrability? on the upper horizontal side 100 of the frame according to the invention. In fact, it is sufficient to apply mini-solar panels on the external face of the housing 130 for the awning 120, to have very accurate information on the solar energy which invests the underlying glass, while also obtaining very good aesthetic integration.

Variants and concluding remarks

At the base of the invention there is the intuition that the technical problem that arises to achieve good air conditioning in an internal environment with many windows, without resorting to complex thermotechnical planning, can? be solvable even with a system that integrates in a single point a plurality? of technologies which, combined together, are effective for realizing air conditioning, ventilation and radiation shielding, making these different measures cooperate efficiently even without necessarily designing the system on a case-by-case basis, or installation by installation.

The invention, in fact, identifies in the upper horizontal side of the frames with which the windows are made, the point in which to implement, in a substantially concentrated way, a plurality of windows. of plant characteristics.

Therefore, the element constituted by said upper horizontal side 100 of a window frame actually constitutes the object of the invention, since it is an element which, in addition to offering the solution to the problem of air conditioning, can be engineered and standardized with a view to industrial-type production.

Furthermore, it is an element that can be made with very contained dimensions, and which in any case occupy a volume of the environment in which they have practically no evident visual impact. Making what? the invention can be installed anywhere you intend to create an internal environment with many windows.

The rest of the frame, and of the window as a whole, is then feasible in a similar way to normal windows, being all the innovative part concentrated only in the upper horizontal side 100 of the frame. The optimization results that can be achieved in terms of product engineering are results that ultimately are reflected in cost containment and increased speed? completion of new glazing installations, from order to finished work.

As the innovation is all in all concentrated on the side of the frame with the least visual impact, the window, as a whole, can be made in many different ways using the various materials and the various styles that today characterize the offer of fixtures and fittings in general.

For example, the coupling between the glass housing profile 150 and the overlying aeration chamber 140 can be a fixed coupling, and in this case the window would be a fixed window, but it can? also be a sliding fit cos? to make a glass door that can be opened by sliding, or can? be a coupling with gasket, cos? to make windows that can be opened ?wing?, or ?flap?.

Evidently, even the glass plates 110 and the curtains 120 can be selected from among the innumerable technologies which allow such elements to be made, thus giving give rise to different variations of the invention.

Furthermore, important variants for the present invention may be linked not only to the evolution of the individual technologies which constitute it, but also to how it will evolve? the sector of the components associated with the diffusion of the cos? called ?smart building?, which in current common parlance ? a clearly understandable term, to refer to all the buildings whose operation? ? strongly supported by a significant number of ?smart object?, cio? devices to support the pi? various IT applications functional to an advanced management of the systems present in the building. In fact, a large part of these ?smart objects? that will soon invade modern buildings (according to now widespread and widely shared forecasts) will be sensors and actuators functional to the improvement of living comfort and energy saving.

Therefore, the windows indicated in the invention could, for example, integrate further components of various complexity? and also perform other functions, additional to the essential ones mentioned in the description and claimed in the present patent application.

Of many of some variants yes? also already? mentioned in the description, and concern the use of different materials, different structural and design solutions, and different IT equipment, both in terms of ?hardware? control and supported application programs; However, ? especially in the context of evolutionary scenarios, currently unpredictable, that the invention lends itself to incorporating and supporting further development and improvement efforts, capable of improving, or increasing, the performance of the described system.

Therefore, further developments could be made by a man skilled in the art without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as it results from the present description and from the claims attached hereto which form an integral part of the present description; or, if said developments are not included in the present description, they may be the subject of further patent applications associated with the present invention, or dependent on it.

Claims (5)

TITLE: GLAZING FOR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS CLAIMS 1. A glazing system suitable to be installed to enclose a habitable room, and which comprises at least one frame and a glass plate (110) supported by said frame; being said frame characterized by the fact that its upper horizontal side (100) comprises at least: to. a glass housing profile (150), shaped to hold the upper side of said glass plate (110); b. an internally hollow aeration chamber (140), arranged above said housing profile (150), which has the. an intake slot (141) in its face facing the internal environment, suitable for letting air from said habitable room enter said aeration chamber (140), and ii. a vent opening (142) in its face facing outwards, and adapted to let out air which is inside said aeration chamber (140); c. a ventilation subsystem (145) installed inside said aeration chamber (140), capable of moving air, sucking it from said habitable environment, and causing it to flow towards the external environment; d. a housing (130) for a rolled up curtain substantially as wide as said sheet of glass (110), said housing (130) being positioned externally longitudinally alongside said aeration chamber (140); And. a roll-up awning (120) which, when ? completely rolled up, is it substantially contained inside said housing (130), and when is it? fully unrolled, it substantially covers said glass plate (110) entirely. The glazing system according to claim 1, which also comprises at least one temperature sensor. The glazing system according to claim 1, which also comprises at least one solar radiation detector. The glazing system according to claim 3, wherein said at least one solar radiation detector comprises photovoltaic cells positioned on an outer face of said awning housing (130). 5. Glazing system according to claim 2, which also comprises calculation means suitable for executing programs for switching on and off said ventilation subsystem (145) and for controlling the rolling up and unrolling of said curtain (120) also as a function of the temperature detected by said temperature sensor.