SE410803B - APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF AIR THROUGH A VENTILATION PASSAGE - Google Patents

Description

It is known to provide closable supply air ducts and to place in a exhaust air duct a temperature sensing means with a sensor body which, by changing the dimension or configuration during temperature changes of the ambient air, gradually closes or opens a valve, so that the amount of exhaust air to some extent controlled.

It is also known that the temperature sensing means can be placed at the outlet of the exhaust air duct to also allow the temperature of the outdoor air to affect the dimensional or configuration conditions of the sensing body and the ability to close and close a valve in the outlet. However, it has been found that conventional exhaust air restricting devices do not provide truly energy efficient ventilation in the natural draft system. At low outdoor temperature and wind, the air turnover is much stronger than at the same low temperature without wind. The ventilation losses in naturally ventilated houses during the colder part of the year, ie during the heating season, make up about a third of the total heat losses. In cold weather, the indoor humidity also tends to assume unhealthily low values. Low humidity in homes during the heating season is experienced by many as troublesome. After heating the air indoors to room temperature, the originally cold air gets from an unpleasantly low relative humidity. The greater the air circulation that is allowed in cold weather, the drier air is thus obtained in the house.

A third important weather factor, in addition to the outdoor temperature and wind strength, is the intensity of the radiation. With strong solar radiation, for example, the indoor temperature tends to increase. One way to avoid this is to increase the amount of exhaust air per unit time.

The disadvantages and wishes described above have to a significant degree been eliminated or achieved by means of the exhaust air limiting or regulating device, which is described in the Swedish patent specification 385 731. This device is capable of regulating a valve in an exhaust air duct in dependence on all significant factors, such as indoor and outdoor temperature, wind strength and hot and cold radiation.

The present invention, which is based on the principle on which the invention according to the above-mentioned patent specification is based, has in particular the object of enabling an application of this technique also to supply air ducts, ie ventilation ducts, which normally lead air from outside to indoor premises, in order to further reduce the total energy generation costs. In particular, the invention has for its object to improve it in '7803220-8. Swedish patent 385 73l, so that it is suitable for automatic supply air control and possibly both for exhaust and supply air control and thereby allows efficient, automatic, optimal limitation of air circulation in a house, ie to an economically and physiologically reasonable level regardless of variations in outdoor temperature and wind strength.

Another object of the invention is to provide a compact, reliable, automatically operating apparatus which is useful for and in terms of volume is able to keep the supply air quantity constant per unit time and which, if desired, can be used for regulating the exhaust air duct according to the above-mentioned patent.

To fulfill these objects, the invention has provided an apparatus for connecting residential and other houses with a ventilation passage to it and regulating the flow of air through the ventilation passage, which apparatus comprises a duct, a movable valve means for regulating the air flow through the duct and a temperature-sensitive body, which is arranged to react to small temperature changes and thereby operate the valve means in the direction of closing or opening the duct depending on the temperature reactions of the sensing body, the apparatus having openings for diverting some of the air flowing through the duct to contact with the sensor body, so that both this part of the air and air with the temperature prevailing at the outlet side of the duct is allowed to affect the sensor body and so that the partial current's effect on the sensor body increases with increasing outdoor wind strength and the sensor body is thereby affected, so that it tends to close valve body with increasing vi strength and decreasing external temperature and open the valve means with increasing indoor temperature, decreasing outdoor wind strength and increasing outdoor temperature, the apparatus according to the invention being characterized in that it comprises a housing with an inlet and an outlet, a first chamber connecting the inlets and outlets , a second chamber separated from the first chamber by means of a wall, in which the sensing body is arranged and which is connected to the first chamber through an opening in said wall, and that the valve member actuated by the sensing body is supported by the housing adjacent the inlet of the housing. or outlet.

The apparatus according to the invention can replace or supplement previously known supply air ventilation systems of simpler types and also, for example, much more expensive mechanical ventilation systems, possibly also in combination with heat recovery units, and obviates their inconveniences, but the apparatus can also be used with exhaust air ducts. In both cases, even during the colder season or the heating season, the appliance is able to keep the air circulation at an acceptable level with regard to both the outdoor air temperature variations and prevailing wind conditions and at an acceptable level even when the solar radiation is intense and the indoor temperature rises, which is a particularly difficult problem. cold weather.

When the device is used with an exhaust air duct, it acts essentially in the same way as the device according to the above-mentioned patent specification, ie the diverted part of hot exhaust air and, where applicable, cold outside wind affects the tactile body simultaneously, but to varying degrees .

In strong winds the temperature effect of the wind on the sensory body dominates and in weak winds the effect of the warm exhaust air. In strong, cold winds, the valve closes more than in weak winds with the same temperature, because in the first case the partial flow of warm exhaust air is not given an opportunity to heat the sensing body as much as it has the opportunity to do in the second case. The result is that the heat effect of the hot exhaust air on the tactile body decreases with increasing wind strength and increases with decreasing wind strength and that the valve gradually closes with increasing wind strength and gradually opens with decreasing wind strength and gradually closes with decreasing exhaust air and / or outdoor temperature and gradually opens with increasing exhaust air and / or outdoor temperature.

Due to its compact construction, however, the apparatus according to the invention is particularly useful in connection with a supply air duct. From the air flow, which also in this case tends to increase with increasing outdoor wind pressure, a partial current is derived in contact with the sensing body, which is thus affected by the temperature of the cold outdoor air and depending on wind pressure (wind speed), but the sensing body is also affected by the movements of the indoor air (room air). With increasing outdoor wind pressure, the influence from the supply air increases (through increasing air inflow into the duct) in relation to the indoor temperature and, if applicable, part of the indoor air flow can be diverted and caused to act on the tactile body. With increasing wind pressure and decreasing outdoor temperature, the sensor body for closing the valve is affected more and more, but the indoor air temperature and flow in contact with the sensor body acts in the opposite direction, ie for opening the valve, whereby the result is that the valve is set to one position. which depends on both outdoor temperature and wind- 7803220-8 pressure as well as indoor temperature and possibly the indoor air flow. Consequently, even in this case, the most economical ventilation of a room is achieved.

By means of a device which enables the presetting of a duct for the conduction of warm indoor air in contact with the sensing body and / or the presetting of the operating area of the sensing body, different rooms can be regulated in different ways and different personal wishes are satisfied.

As with the device according to Swedish patent 385 731, in the apparatus according to the invention a temperature-sensitive bimetallic band formed into a single spiral is used as the sensing body, but it is arranged in a special, compact manner for the invention in a specially arranged housing, which both form a valve housing and part of the ventilation duct, the housing having walls with openings arranged so that air currents are diverted to influence the sensor body. Through this device according to the invention a compact apparatus is obtained, which can be connected to existing ventilation ducts and can be used for both supply air and exhaust air ducts.

When used for supply air control, the apparatus according to the invention can easily be connected to the inner end of an already existing supply air duct, such as at the inside of a ventilation duct arranged in an outer wall adjacent to or next to a window.

Such a channel may be in the form of a slot in the window construction or in the outer wall in close proximity to a window. Such ducts are often located under the window sill and sometimes above the window in residential buildings and are then usually provided with a manually adjustable valve. It is then easy to replace this valve with the apparatus according to the invention with the valve operated by means of a bimetallic element. The bimetallic element and the valve are preferably built into a compact, elongate device housing, which has an inlet arranged for connection to a slit-like ventilation opening and an outlet intended to open into or be connected to the space inside the outer wall, wherein from the channel between the compact the inlet and outlet of the apparatus housing are branched into a shunt channel, which extends through a chamber in which the bimetallic element is arranged, and opens into the room via openings in the wall of the bimetallic chamber. The valve means, to which the bimetallic element is directly or indirectly connected, preferably has the shape of a flap, which regulates the flow through the main channel in the apparatus housing, ie the flow between the slot in the outer wall and the inlet of the apparatus in the space inside the outer wall. The invention is described in the following in the form of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawing for illustrating the above and also further features of the invention, Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view and partly a plan view of a ventilation control apparatus according to the invention of so-called springs. valve type and Fig. 2 shows the apparatus in cross section along the line II-II in Fig. 1.

In the drawing, 25 denotes an outer wall, which separates a room 26 in a residential building from the outer air at 27. In the wall 25 or the window portion (ie frame or arch) is arranged a horizontal slot 28, for example above or, as shown, under a window ( not shown).

The apparatus according to the invention, which as shown in the drawing is very compact, is generally indicated by 30 and comprises an apparatus housing 31, which contains two chambers 32, 33. One chamber 32 has the shape of a channel, which has substantially the same length as wear then 28 and is connected partly to the slot 28 via an inlet slot 34 in a bottom plate 35, and partly to the space 26 via a preferably left outlet slot 36 angled relative to the inlet 34 for a suitable outlet direction.

The bimetallic element 37 has the shape of a single spiral and is arranged in the chamber 33, which is delimited from the chamber 32 by means of a rotatable sleeve 38, which is mounted in an internally cylindrical part 3la of the apparatus housing 31. This part 3la of the housing 31 is provided with one or more openings 39 and the sleeve 38 is provided with an inlet slot or inlet openings 40 and outlet slots or openings 41. The inlet slot 40 connects the main chamber or housing. the channel 32 with the bimetallic chamber or channel 33 and the openings 41 are connected to the openings 39 and via these to the living space 26.

The sleeve 38 is rotatable by means of a handle 42 accessible from the living space 26, so that the free flow area through the openings 39, 41 can be regulated.

One end 37a of the bimetallic element 37 is connected to the apparatus housing 31, preferably via a device 43, which allows adjustment of the angular position of the bimetallic element in the sleeve 38, and the other end of the bimetallic element is connected to an operating arm 37b or forms this operating arm, which is arranged to act on a valve flap 44, which is shown in Fig. 2 by means of solid lines in a fully open position and by means of dotted lines in a fully closed position relative to the inlet 36 of the supply air duct 32. In the embodiment shown, the valve flap 44 is fixed in the apparatus. 8 - the housing in that an inner edge in the form of a bead 44a of the flap 44 is fixed in a sectional circular seat in the apparatus housing wall 31. In this case, the flap 44 may consist of elastic material and be arranged to form an element. , which strives to return by its own elasticity from closed to open position and thereby always be kept in abutment against the bimetallic arm 37b. However, the flap 44 may instead be mounted with its edge bead 44a in the above-mentioned seat and may have such a dead weight or be connected to the bimetallic arm 37b to be both opened and closed by its weight or forcibly.

Optionally, the flap 44 may be actuated towards the open position by means of a spring (not shown).

The bottom plate 35 of the apparatus housing 31, which is fastened to the wall 25 by means of, for example, screws 45, has in the embodiment shown two parallel, inwardly directed strips 46 and the housing 31 has grooves fitting at the inner edges of opposite side walls against the strips. By suitable shape of the strips 46 and the grooves fitting against them, the housing 31 can be easily mounted on the base plate 35 by applying pressure to the housing to effect engagement between the housing 31 and the base plate strips 46. If the housing 31 consists of sheet metal, For example, the base plate may consist of elastic material, for example plastic, which facilitates the described assembly of the housing 31.

As a rule, the bimetallic element 37 need not be as long as the apparatus housing 31. In the embodiment shown, the bimetallic element 38 is about half as long as the housing 31 and the bimetallic arm 37b acts substantially at a point midway between the ends of the valve flap 44.

In Fig. 2, the supply air flow from the outside is indicated by means of arrows 50 and the inlet air flow in the room 26 by means of arrows 51. A part of the supply air can flow through the chamber 33 as a partial flow 52a, but from the living space hot air can also flow through the chamber 33 in the manner indicated by arrows 52.

The air currents 50-51, 52, 52a correspond in principle to the air currents which may occur in the embodiment according to the Swedish patent 385 73l @ With increasing wind pressure outside the wall 25, the currents in the direction 5Q, 52a may dominate. These cold air currents act on the bimetallic element 37 and cause the valve 36 to close depending on the amount of air and air temperature. However, hot air also flows through the bimetallic element 37 according to the flow arrows 52, and the bimetallic element is thus affected depending on the temperature of the indoor air and the valve 44 is therefore set depending on the indoor air temperature (hot air) as well as the outdoor air temperature and wind pressure. whereby the supply air regulation takes into account both the external and internal conditions.

Due to the possibility of adjusting the through-holes 39, 41 and the angular position (initial position) of the bimetallic element 37 in the manner described, the apparatus 30 can be easily adapted for different ventilation needs.

The apparatus shown in the drawing is an example of an ingenious solution to the problem of using the principle described in Swedish patent 385,731 optionally for a supply air duct or an exhaust air duct. In the embodiment shown, the apparatus is used in a living space with the inlet 34 connected to the slot 28 of the ventilation duct, but the apparatus can, if desired, be placed at the outlet of an exhaust air duct with the inlet 34 connected to the outlet of the exhaust air duct. Due to its simplicity and compact design, the construction according to the invention is with great advantage usable instead of conventional, usually manually adjustable slit or so-called check valves, which are used in connection with openings in outer walls below or above windows.

It is advantageous to use both automatically regulated exhaust air valves according to Swedish patent 385,731 and automatically regulated supply air valves according to the invention for achieving total self-regulation of residential buildings and other houses. Used as an automatic supply air valve, the device is able to regulate and limit the ventilation that occurs directly through a house from the wind pressure side to the leeward side and which represents a large, previously uncontrolled energy loss item when using unregulated so-called escape valves. The invention is also applicable to fan ventilation systems, which are easily understood without special description.

In a housing with several regulated valves according to the invention, the valves are closed to a greater extent on the windward side than on the reading side, whereby optimal ventilation always takes place at the most favorable side of the housing, which is a great advantage.

Experiments with devices according to the invention have shown that they, acting as control devices for supply air ducts, such as ventilation slots in walls, in a surprisingly effective manner act as sound insulators for sound which otherwise penetrates into rooms unhindered through ventilation slots in walls. One explanation for this unexpected effect is that the air flow is angled in the housing 30 and that the housing thereby acts as a muffler. This sound-absorbing effect can be enhanced by the housing being made of a suitable material, such as plastic.

It should also be mentioned that the automatically operating apparatus according to the invention, when connected to high-lying ventilation ducts in living rooms or other premises, obviates the problem common in conventional valves of arranging an easily accessible operating means. If such problems are not present or addressed, on the other hand, the valve means of the apparatus can be connected to a device accessible from standing height for manual closing of the valve means at times when it is desired to close the ventilation duct despite the bimetallic element striving to keep the valve means open.

Furthermore, the apparatus can be provided with a device for presetting an area around which the valve flap is automatically regulated by means of the bimetallic element. A device of the latter kind may, for example, consist of one or a pair of adjustable stop stops for the bimetallic element or valve flap or a device 42 for adjusting the initial position (angle) of the bimetallic element for actuating the valve flap.

It is also possible to arrange the valve flap so that it, if. it, in cold weather, ie at relatively low outdoor temperatures, is affected by strong, short-term temperature shocks, can be swung by these towards the closed position even if the temperature is not so low that the valve flap is closed by the bimetallic element. This possibility is easily realized in a study of Fig. 2. Assuming that the temperature drops so that the bimetallic element pivots the valve flap closer to the outlet 36, and a strong gust of wind occurs, the air pressure towards the back of the valve flap can swing the valve flap toward closed position.

When the air shock ceases and the wind pressure decreases, the valve flap is returned by spring force, which in the case shown is the resilience of the valve flap material in the portion closest to the joint 44a. Fluttering of the valve flap is damped by the resistance of the spring force.

Such and other modifications for adapting the apparatus according to the invention for special ventilation openings in houses and special ventilation requirements without departing from the principle of operation of the apparatus also fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims (14)

_'7803220-8 10 PATENT REQUIREMENTS Apparatus for connecting residential and other houses with a ventilation passage (50) to it and regulating the flow of air through the ventilation passage, which apparatus comprises a duct (32, 36), a movable valve means (44) for regulating the air flow through a duct and a temperature-sensitive body (37), which is arranged to react to small temperature changes and thereby to operate the valve means in the direction of closing or opening the duct depending on the temperature reactions of the sensing body, the apparatus having openings (39, 40). ) to divert a part (52a) of the air flowing through the duct to contact with the sensing body (32), so that both this part of the air and air with the temperature prevailing at the outlet side of the duct (32, 36) are allowed to affect the sensing body. the body, so that the influence of the partial current on the sensor body increases with increasing outdoor wind strength and the sensor body is thereby affected, so that it tends to close the valve member with increasing wind strength and decreasing surface area. temperature and open valve means (44) with increasing indoor temperature, decreasing outdoor wind strength and increasing outdoor temperature, characterized in that the apparatus comprises a housing (30) with an inlet (34) and an outlet (36), a first chamber (32) connecting the inlets and outlets (34, 36), a second chamber (33) separated from the first chamber by a wall (38), in which the sensing body (37) is arranged and which is connected to the first chamber (32) through an opening in said wall, and that the valve member (44) which can be actuated by the sensing body (37) is supported by the housing (30) in connection with the inlet or outlet of the housing. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing (30) is elongate and substantially tubular with end walls and a longitudinal opening arranged as inlet (34) in one side of the housing, and that inside the housing at its relative to the inlet on the opposite side is arranged a tubular element (38), the interior of which forms said second chamber (33), the first chamber (32) being constituted by a space between the tubular element (38) and the inlet (34) of the housing. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sensing body consists of a helical bimetallic element (37), characterized in that the bimetallic element has approximately the same outer diameter as the inner diameter of the tubular element minus a sufficient amount to allow the required mobility of the bimetallic element in the tubular element, that one end of the bimetallic element is preferably adjustably connected to the housing or to the tubular element and that the bimetallic element at the other end has or is connected to a projection which extends through the bimetallic element. opening (40), which connects the second chamber (33) to the first chamber (32), and which forms means for actuating the valve means (44). 4. Apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that its outlet (36) is constituted by a longitudinal opening in the wall (31) of the tubular housing (30) opposite the first chamber (32) and that the valve means is in the form of an elongate valve flap (44), which is mounted on the inside of the housing and is pivotable in the first chamber (32) in the direction of and from the outlet (36) for regulating the passage area of the outlet. Apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the tubular element (38) and the housing (30) in a semi-cylindrical part of its wall (31) enclosing the tubular element, has openings (39, 41) for connecting the second chamber (33) to the outside of the housing (30). Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the tubular element (38) is rotatably mounted in the housing (30) and is adjustable by means of an adjusting device (42) to allow relative adjustment of said openings (39, 41). ) for connecting the second chamber to the outside of the housing, so that the passage through these openings can be closed or opened as desired. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a device for manual closing or presetting is connected to the valve means (44). Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (30) in the area of the inlet (34) has a mounting plate (35) which has an opening for connecting the housing to the inlet from said ventilation passage ( 50), and that the housing and the plate have devices (46) for releasable mounting, eg clamping, of the housing on the plate (35). 9. Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the valve flap (44) has a spring-loaded guide device and is arranged to be actuated by the sensing body against the action of the spring force. 10. Apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the joint and the spring load consist of a flexible, resilient wall portion of the valve flap next to an edge portion of the valve flap attached to the valve housing. 11. ll. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is mounted directly adjacent to a slot-shaped ventilation opening, preferably a ventilation opening adjacent to a window or a wall near a window. get Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it is connected to a supply air duct. is arranged to be connected with said inlet (34) to the outlet (50) of the supply air duct to a room in a building or is for connection to an exhaust air duct arranged to be connected with said inlet (34) to the outlet of the exhaust air duct from the building. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inlet (341 and outlet (36) of the housing are arranged so that the air flow is angled in the first chamber (32) before the outflow through the outlet, partly to obtain a sound-absorbing effect, partly for discharge of the air flow in the desired direction. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in. This is due to the fact that the valve member (44) is arranged in the housing in such a way that in the case of a partially closed position against the action of elastic force it is pivotable in the direction of the closed position of strong gusts of wind through the inlet (34) of the housing. MENTIONED PUBLICATIONS: