US2130157A - Air-conditioning system - Google Patents

Description

mv M YQMQGGC Cams 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1ER @EY k" W. S. RUGG ET Al.

Filed Jan. 6, 1956 INVEHTORS. Hen/"g fZJ/nes and /I/agr S. Fvg

Omvnm Sept. 13, 1938.

QNEEQ WITNESS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 w. s. RUGG Er AL AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM Filed Jan. e, 195s lNvENToRs. /@nf .Ja/ne and l/l/a/ f5'. U

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM Walter S. Rugg and Henry D. James, Pittsburgh,

Application January s, 1936, serial No. 57,761

The present invention relates to a building construction embodying means for distributing conditioned air therethrough, and, more particularly, to an improved air-conditioning system for an oilice building, hotel, apartment house, or the like.

i Air-conditioning systems for apartments, hotels and the like have the present disadvantage of a high iirst cost, they necessitate major alterations of the building, and they involve the diiiiculty of properly supplying conditioned air to meet the.

desires and demands of occupants having different ideas as to just what a comfortable air condition should be.

It is an object ofthe invention, therefore, to

i5 provide a system for circulating conditioned air which is of a low initial-cost, is iiexible in installation, and which will deliver to rooms or areas a desired and adjustable amount of conditioned air essentially without a duct system and according to the individual desires of the occupants thereof.

By way of example, and not by way of limita'- ytion, the invention has been illustrated as applied to a hotel, or similar structure, and further objects thereof will be apparent from the following description.

Referring to the drawings- Figure 1 is a plan view, in section, of a floor of a hotel, apartment, or the like, embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1; l

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in section taken on the line III-IlI of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view, on an enlarged scale, partly in section, of a control device in accordance with the present invention.

Referring more specically to Fig. 1, one floor of a building to which the invention may be applied, comprises an exterior -Wall substantially of L-shape having a corridor 2 aording access to a plurality of rooms 4. Certain of said rooms may be intercommunicating, as 5 and 6, with a single entrance to the corridor 2; it being within the scope of the invention to condition one or more rooms from a corridor affording access to one of Y them, or from one room communicating with another or other rooms. Also, in the case of a tall building, there is usually provided elevator shafts E and one or more storage closets S.

It iscqntemplated that one room on a oor, preferably one of the smaller rooms 1, shall be equipped with an air-conditioning apparatus comprising a filter, humidifier, compressor, and other required auxiliary apparatus, to supply air at a` desiredA temperature and humidity to the corridor ici. ca -33) 2.I In thecase of buildings already constructed,

such as a hotel, one of the smaller rooms may be employed for this purpose, o r a closet or other enclosure of suiiicient-size to house the conditioning equipment. In the case ofa building being 5 constructed, any space of suiiicient volume may be reserved for housing the equipment. Although an aspect of the invention resides in providing a conditioning unit for each floor of a building, or for a group of rooms to be supplied 10 therefrom, it is also within the scope thereof to provide a centrally located unit connected with suitable ducts to theindividual floors or groups of rooms.

By conditioned air is meanty air that has been 16 -heated or cooled, cleaned, treated to obtain a desired degree of humidity, or any other operation performed upon it to make it more suitable or hygenic for living conditions.

For present purposes, such an air-conditioning 20 unit is disposed in the room 1, shown more clearly in Fig. 3, having an inlet 8 adjacent to the floor thereof for drawing air from a point adjacent to the iioor of the corridor 2, such air being conditioned and forced outat the duct 9 adjacent to the 25 ceiling of the corridor. If desired, all of the intake-air to the conditioning apparatus may be withdrawn from the corridor, or an adjustable amount may be taken from the window I0. I

The particular form of conditioning apparatus 30 in room 'l is not a detail of the present invention.

It may be a cleaning and cooling system for warm weather conditions, or it may be a cleaning and Ventilating system for cooler weather. In either event, it will usually include a fan for drawing 35 air from the lower part of the corridor and forcing it through the short duct 9 in both directions along the ceiling of the corridor.

For relatively long corridors, a horizontally extending partition l2 may be provided to help to 40 maintain the layer of cold air adjacent to the ceiling for a greater distance. Such partition, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4, is spaced from the side walls of the corridor and may be suspended from the ceiling by posts or hangers I3.

Referring to Fig. 1, thev partition l2 extends from the delivery end of duct 9, to the left thereof, to a point short of the end oi the corridor 2, and it extends to the right under a set of bailies I1, so shaped that the air-stream will turn with the 50 corridor, without substantial diminution of velocity, to a point short of the end of the corridor. Suitable vanes i8 may be provided to direct some of the air into the short corridor 3.

In applying the invention to an existing buiid- 55 ing, the false ceiling l2 may be provided with transparent plates I5 removably mounted below the existing lighting iixtures I6 (Fig. 4) or such fixtures may be dropped and mounted directly in the false ceiling I 2, as indicated in the upper part of Fig. 2.

It is an important aspect of the invention that, depending upon the length of the corridor to be serviced and the number of rooms communicating therewith, the velocity of the air delivered from the duct 9 is just suicient to maintainja stratum of conditioned air adjacent to the corridor ceiling without substantial pressure; that is, without sufiicient pressure to force the air, in any real volume, into the rooms communicating with the corridor. This depends, of course, on the dimensions of the corridor and the delivery rate of the conditioning unit in room l.

An important feature of the invention is its function in hot weather. By a proper adjustment of the conditioning apparatus, the cooled and conditioned air isdelivered from the duct 9 at a lower temperature than would usually be required for a given area. This insures that the air as drawn into the rooms will be suiiiciently cool, and has the added advantage that as it spills down the sides of the false ceiling I2, it will chill the corridor walls; vthereby tending to cool the room walls by conduction, and giving the occupant passing through the corridor a sense of coolness whichis a desired psychological effect.

Referring to Fig. 4, over ,the door of each room to be serviced is afan 20 disposed approximately at the level between the corridor ceiling and the partition. I2 for the purpose of drawing vconditioned air into the room. Each fan is controlled, in speed, by a plural-position switch 2| within the room in any well known manner. By this expedient, the volume of air drawn into the room may be controlled at will to meet the desires of the occupant.

A series of louvres 24 are disposed between the fan 20 and the stratum of conditioned air defined by the false ceiling I2. These may be adjusted, by a. lever 25 within the room, to draw the air from a desired level of the stratum. That is, with the louvres pointing upwardly, and with a cool conditioned stratum, the intake into the room will be at a higher temperature than if they are directed downwardly.

Similarly, a baille 26 may be provided on the room side of the fan, to be manually adjusted about its universal joint mounting 26a to vary the direction of the incoming stream as desired. The conditioned air may accordingly be directed across the ceiling of the room or toward a selected area of the room, such as a bed, table, or the like.

As shown the air intake devices f fan and louvres) are disposed above the door of the room but obviously they may be at any desired position adjacent to the ceiling of the room. They may well be placed in the transom of the door, if one is available, or in the upper part of the door panel, or insert into the wall itself. It is to be understood that the structure and arrangement of these items as shown are largely diagrammatic, and merely suggestive of one possible modification. The control of the louvres 24 and baille 26, and the speed-control of the fan, may be of any desired type, and it is not believed that a more detailed disclosure thereof is required.

Exhaust ventilators are provided for each room, or group of rooms, comprising a grill 21 (Figs. 2 and 4) at a lower level in the room wall than the air-intake devices, so that the air from the latter may circulate through the room and be returned to the corridor and thence to the intake of the conditioning apparatus in room 1. As in the case of the air-intake devices, the grills 21 may be installed at any convenient point in the wall of the room to serve the purpose intended.

In accordance with the foregoing description, the conditioning unit in room I delivers a desired volume of conditioned air adjacent to the ceiling of the corridor. The rate of delivery of such air being sufficient to maintain a stratum adjacent the -ceiling for the length of the corridor, except for long corridors where the false ceiling I2 may be necessary. In either case, such stratum is not at suflicient pressure to force air into the various rooms in an appreciable volume. The conditioning of each room may therefore be controlled individually as desired, by means of the fan 20 and the louvres 24 and baiiie 26.

Of course in the case of an individual apartment, as contrasted with a corridor leading to a plurality of rooms or apartments, the conditioning apparatus may be in a closet and fans 20 and/or louvres 24 be supplied for the several rooms. Or, as in the arrangement shown in Fig. -1', the room 5 may be conditioned through the wall of its communicating room 6, as indicated.

It should be apparent that, when a long corridor is involved, the fans 20 to the several rooms in themselves tend to maintain the stratum of conditioned air adjacent to the ceiling of the corridor, when the fans 'are in operation. This, plus the initial velocity of the air stream, makes it unnecessary to provide a continuous duct or ducts to the several rooms.

In the foregoing description, the conditioned air is distributed along the ceiling of the corridor into the rooms and returned along a lower level in the corridor. Under some conditions it may be desirable to reverse this sequence and deliver the conditioned air at a lower level in the corridor than that at which it is returned to the conditioning unit.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that, in accordance with the present invention, we have devised a conditioning system which .is inexpensive as compared to existing systems, and which may readily be adapted, expanded or restricted to take care of buildings of various shapes and requirements without an excessive initial investment and, what is of real importance, will permit the individual control of air condition in individual rooms from a central point at the option, and according to the desires, of the individual tenants or occupants.

In view of the many possible modifications of the construction shown, no limitations should be placed upon the invention except as imposed by the prior art and the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

"1. In an air conditioning system for a building including acorridor and a plurality of rooms communicating therewith, a source of conditioned air andv means for blowing it along said corridor adjacent to the ceiling thereof, an airintake device for each room disposed to draw said conditioned air into such room, a vent for each room at a lower level than said air-intake device adjustable air-intake devices over the door of each room and a vent adjacent the bottom of said door, an air conditioning device. communicating with said corridor, means for blowing and directing cool conditioned air from said air conditioning device along the ceiling of said corridor at such velocity that a substantial portion of the cool air passes said intake devices whereby it may be drawn into each of said rooms as desired and

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