WO2006061387A1

WO2006061387A1 - Air conditioning apparatus and method

Info

Publication number: WO2006061387A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/056531
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sergio Zanolin
Original assignee: De' Longhi Spa
Priority date: 2004-12-09
Filing date: 2005-12-06
Publication date: 2006-06-15
Also published as: ITUD20040229A1

Abstract

Apparatus (10) to condition the air contained in a determinate environment (11) defining a limited and circumscribed volume with respect to that of the surrounding room, comprising walls (13), a base (15) and a ceiling (14) to circumscribe the environment (11) with respect to the surrounding room, and an air conditioning device (16a, 16b) based on the magneto-calorific effect and having a capacity comprised between about 20 units of refrigeration per hour and about 400 units of refrigeration per hour and selectively associated with the limited and circumscribed volume.

Description

"AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS AND METHOD" * * * * *

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns an apparatus and a method to condition the air contained in a substantially closed environment having a limited and circumscribed volume with respect to the room surrounding it.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An air conditioning apparatus is known, having an air conditioning device to treat the air contained for example in the room of a building, by means of a selective regulation of the temperature and possibly also of the humidity.

A room has a certain volume and the uniform conditioning of the air inside it requires a correlated cooling capacity of the air conditioning device. Consequently, the air conditioning device is often oversized for the actual requirements and this entails a high consumption of energy and considerable bulk which also affect areas outside the room where at least the condensation unit is located.

US-A-2002/0121101 discloses a self-contained air- conditioned enclosure which comprises an enclosure connected to air ducts of an air-conditioning unit having traditional air-conditioner parts such as compressor, evaporator coil, condenser coil, air filter, fan, blower, motors and controls.

US-A-2004/0107711 discloses a confined space conditioning system, which is used to provide conditioning to localized zones of an enclosure. The confined space conditioning system consists of a conditioning unit and an enveloped space, enveloping the localized zone, connected to the conditioning unit. Also in such a case the conditioning unit is of traditional type and comprises a compressor and a heater element to generate cool, dehumidified air or warm conditioned air to the enveloped space, as is required by a user of the system.

The state of the art comprises also US-A-2, 105, 108; DE-A-1301454; US-A-4,602,486; WO-A-2004/056240.

One purpose of the present invention is to condition the air in a circumscribed and substantially closed environment located inside a room. Said circumscribed environment could be, for example, a bed, a cradle, a desk, a divan, an exercise rug, etc., said circumscribed environment requiring a air conditioning device with limited energy consumption and bulk.

Another purpose of the present invention is to achieve an apparatus to condition the air which, once dismantled, is of limited size and easy to transport.

Another purpose of the present invention is to achieve an apparatus to condition air able to generate a controlled atmosphere inside the circumscribed and defined environment. The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is set forth and characterized in the main claims, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the invention or variants to the main inventive idea.

In accordance with the above purposes, an apparatus and a method according to the present invention are usable to condition the air contained in a determinate environment defining a limited and circumscribed volume with respect to that of the surrounding room, for example the room of an office, a veranda, or any other room of a closed type.

The air conditioning apparatus according to the present invention comprises means to circumscribe the environment with respect to the surrounding room, defining a substantially closed volume.

According to a characteristic of the present invention, the air conditioning means is advantageously an air conditioning device based on the magneto-calorific effect, i.e. of the type which does not use any compressor and any refrigerant fluid, like HFC or HC, but uses any non- polluting magneto-calorific material.

Advantageously, said means to circumscribe the environment to be conditioned are able to be positioned temporarily in said room. It comes within the spirit of the invention that the means to temporarily circumscribe the environment are physical means.

According to a variant of said means to temporarily circumscribe the environment, they are means to create dynamic walls.

It is also a variant to provide that said dynamic walls cooperate with the conditioning of the environment thus created.

According to another variant, the means to circumscribe the environment to be conditioned are suitable, or include suitable means, to create a heat insulation between the environment and the surrounding room.

According to another characteristic of the present invention, the air conditioning apparatus according to the present invention also comprises an air conditioning device which is selectively associated with the limited and circumscribed volume and that, according to the size of the environment to be conditioned and the specific conditioning requirements, has a direct operating capacity on the circumscribed environment comprised between about 20 units of refrigeration per hour and about 400 units of refrigeration per hour. Given the relatively low capacity due to the fact that the action of the air conditioning device is limited and circumscribed to a very limited volume of air, the size of the air conditioning device according to the present invention can be much smaller than known air conditioning devices.

In this way, the air conditioning device according to the present invention, in its entirety, is in any case of limited size and easily transported.

Advantageously, the air conditioning device according to the present invention is disposed in a single body.

According to another constructional variant, said conditioning device also has means to create, at least temporarily, continuous dynamic walls, or such as to create a circumscribed volume. According to another variant, the capacity of the air conditioning device is advantageously comprised between about 90 and about 200 units of refrigeration per hour.

It is also within the spirit of the invention to keep the values of noise and of energy consumption very limited with respect to known air conditioning devices.

Moreover, in the event that one of the variants is used, external units are not necessary.

The method according to the present invention comprises at least a first step to circumscribe the environment to a limited and circumscribed volume, so as to insulate the environment with respect to the surrounding room, and a second step to selectively condition the air contained in said limited and circumscribed volume, with a direct operating capacity, on said circumscribed environment, comprised between about 20 units of refrigeration per hour and about 400 units of refrigeration per hour. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferential form of embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

- fig. 1 shows an air conditioning apparatus according to the present invention;

- fig. 2 shows a variant of the apparatus in fig. 1;

- fig. 3 shows another variant of the apparatus in fig. 1;

- fig. 4 shows a variant of the apparatus in fig. 1 with dynamic walls. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERENTIAL FORM OF EMBODIMENT

With reference to fig. 1, an apparatus 10 is used to condition the air contained in a circumscribed environment 11 defining a limited and circumscribed volume with respect to that of the surrounding room. The environment 11 is defined by four walls 13, a ceiling 14 and a base 15, reciprocally joined to each other, for example by means of hinges or Velcro®, so as to constitute a substantially closed volume.

The walls 13, the ceiling 14 and the base 15 are made of synthetic material advantageously of the transparent type and heat insulating so as to thermally insulate the environment 11 with respect to the surrounding room, but it is also provided that they can be made of other material suitable for the purpose, such as for example glass, canvas, cotton or similar textile materials.

The walls 13 and the ceiling 14 are supported by a supporting structure which comprises, in the case shown here, four vertical tubular supports 20, parallel to each other, at the upper ends of which are associated the ends of four horizontal tubular supports 21 arranged in parallel pairs.

According to a variant shown in fig. 2, the environment 11 is defined by a cover 18 and a base 15 made, for example, of synthetic heat insulating material, in the case shown here not transparent, and reciprocally joined together so as to constitute a substantially closed volume.

The cover 18 is supported by a supporting structure defined by two arch-shaped tubular supports 22.

To allow the user to enter or leave the environment 11, one or more walls 13 of fig. 1, or the cover 18 of fig. 2, have a rectangular zone 19, which can be selectively opened or closed, for example by means of a zip. The apparatus 10 (figs. 1 and 2) comprises an air conditioning device 16a, 16b based on the magneto- calorific effect, Advantageously, air conditioning device is contained in a single body 16a or 16b.

The air conditioning device 16a, 16b also comprises all the accessories and controls able to guarantee a desired conditioning of the air, and is able to condition the air contained inside the environment 11, emitting, from the environment 11 towards the surrounding room, the air eliminated by the conditioning process, without any pollution.

It is also provided that the air conditioning device 16a, 16b can comprise an air treatment unit inserted thereon and able to recover at least part of the air introduced into the environment 11. The treatment unit advantageously comprises filter devices, for example of the anti-pollen type, ionizing devices, or oxygen or ozone generating devices, or similar filter devices or devices to treat the air in order to purify it.

In this way, the air conditioning apparatus 10 according to the present invention is able to create a controlled atmosphere inside the environment 11. To be more exact, the air conditioning device 16a is attached in correspondence with the base 15 but, in a variant solution shown, the air conditioning device 16b can be attached to the top of the supporting structure.

In the case shown in fig. 1, the environment 11 contains a single bed and can therefore include a volume equal to about 4 m .

Alternatively, it is provided that the environment 11 can contain a double bed, shown in fig. 3, in which case the volume of the environment 11 can be increased to about 8 m³.

According to another alternative, not shown here, it is provided that the environment 11 can contain a cradle or children's bed, thus reducing the volume of the environment 11 to less than about 2 m . To condition the volumes of air corresponding to said volumes of the environment 11, the capacity required of the air conditioning device 16a, 16b is comprised between about 20 and 400 units of refrigeration per hour.

It is thus possible to obtain a reduction in noise, energy consumption and bulk with respect to the traditional air conditioning devices.

The air conditioning device 16a, 16b is able to absorb from the environment 11 and to give up to the surrounding room a relatively low quantity of heat. In any case, this quantity of heat is not such as to influence the temperature of the air inside the environment 11.

A flexible pipe can also be connected to the air conditioning device 16a, 16b, for example made of light fabric, in order to convey the expelled air outside.

The apparatus 10 advantageously has a weight of some tens of kilograms (about 25 Kg) and, once dismantled, has very limited dimensions, for example a width of about 640 mm, a depth of about 240 mm and a height of about 600 mm.

The apparatus 10, when dismantled, therefore has a very limited volume, less than half a cubic meter, which allows it to be easily inserted in a bag, a haversack, a suitcase or other container, by means of which it can also be easily transported.

According to a variant solution of the present invention, the air conditioning apparatus 10 comprises an airtight channel 25 arranged on one part of the surface of one of the walls 13 and the ceiling 14 (fig. 3), or of the cover 18.

The channel 25 is made for example of synthetic material, or rubber, and is connected upstream to the air conditioning device 16a which delivers air inside it, and downstream by means of a plurality of through holes 26 to the environment 11, so as to distribute inside the environment 11 the air transported by the channel 25.

The walls 13 and the ceiling 14, or the cover 18, can be made of different material from that of the channel 25, for example of cotton, and are supported by a rigid-type supporting structure.

According to another variant solution of the present invention, not shown, it is also provided to make at least part of the walls 13, or the cover 18, with two or more layers of flexible material, for example rubber, joined together so as to define an airtight chamber.

The chamber is connected to the air conditioning device 16a, 16b so as to inflate the walls 13 or the cover 18, and keep them inflated so as to define the environment 11 without needing a supporting structure.

The conditioning of the air inside the environment 11 can occur through a plurality of through holes made in the layer of the walls 13, or of the cover 18, which faces towards the environment 11.

This variant embodiment, in particular, allows to render the air conditioning apparatus 10 according to the present invention easy to assemble and dismantle, simply by inflating and deflating its walls 13, or the cover 18, also offering easy transportability of the air conditioning apparatus 10, once dismantled, for example in a suitcase.

It is also provided, in a solution not shown here, that the walls 13 and the ceiling 14, or the cover 18, with the respective base 15, define an airtight environment 11 and that they are supported by means of a plenum with respect to the surrounding room obtained by means of the air conditioning device 16a, 16b.

According to a variant shown in fig. 4, the air conditioning device 16b, attached to the ceiling, or to floor supports, faces towards the zone to be conditioned, around which it is able to create, at least temporarily, a flow of air by means of suitable perimeter conducts 27. In this way, it is possible to achieve continuous dynamic walls 28, or such as to create a circumscribed volume and hence the environment 11.

In a first embodiment, the air is conditioned and the air itself contributes to conditioning the environment 11.

According to another solution, the conducts 27 serve to create the dynamic wall or barrier 28, while conditioned air, recovered for example through a suction device 29, is introduced into the environment 11 through other conducts

127.

It is clear that modifications and/or additions of parts may be made to the apparatus 10 as described heretofore, without departing from the field and scope of the present invention.

According to a variant solution not shown here, the environment 11 is defined by the four walls 13 and by the ceiling 14, or by the cover 18, but has no base. In this case, the lower part of each wall 13, or of the cover 18, cooperates with the floor of the room so as to achieve a substantially closed environment 11. It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to some specific examples, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of air conditioning apparatus and method, having the characteristics as set forth in the claims and therefore all coming within the field of protection defined thereby.

Claims

1. Apparatus to condition the air contained in a determinate environment (H), defining a limited and circumscribed volume with respect to that of the surrounding room, characterized in that it comprises circumscribing means (13, 14, 15, 18) to circumscribe said environment (11) with respect to said surrounding room, and an air conditioning device (16a, 16b) based on the magneto-calorific effect and selectively associated to said limited and circumscribed volume.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1, characterized in that said air conditioning device (16a, 16b) has a capacity comprised between about 20 units of refrigeration per hour and about 400 units of refrigeration per hour.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2, characterized in that said air conditioning device (16a, 16b) has a capacity comprised between about 90 units of refrigeration per hour and about 200 units of refrigeration per hour.

4. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said circumscribing means (13, 14, 15, 18) is able to create a heat insulation between said environment (11) and said room.

5. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said circumscribing means (13, 14, 15, 18) is able to be temporarily and removably positioned in said room.

6. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said air conditioning device (16a, 16b) is disposed in a single body.

7. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said limited and circumscribed volume is comprised between a few cubic meters and some tens of cubic meters.

8. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said circumscribing means comprises at least a plurality of walls (13) and a ceiling (14) reciprocally joined to each other so as to constitute a substantially closed volume.

9. Apparatus as in claim 8, characterized in that at least one of said walls (13) comprises a zone (19) able to be selectively opened and closed in order to allow the user to enter or leave said environment (11).

10. Apparatus as in any claim from 1 to 7 inclusive, characterized in that said circumscribing means comprises at least a cover (18) defining a substantially closed volume.

11. Apparatus as in claim 10, characterized in that said cover (18) comprises at least a zone (19) able to be selectively opened and closed to allow the user to enter or leave said environment (11).

12. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that said circumscribing means (13, 14, 18) is supported by a supporting structure comprising a plurality of supports (20, 21, 22).

13. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that at least a part of said circumscribing means (13,

14, 18) is associated with a substantially airtight channel (25) connected to said air conditioning device (16a, 16b), which is able to deliver air inside said channel (25). 14. Apparatus as in claim 13, characterized in that a plurality of through holes (26) are made on a part of said channel (25) facing, during use, towards said environment (11), said through holes (26) being able to distribute inside the environment (11) the air delivered by said air conditioning device (16a, 16b).

15. Apparatus as in any claim from 1 to 12 inclusive, characterized in that at least a part of said circumscribing means (13, 14, 18) is made with at least two layers of flexible material joined together so as to define a substantially airtight chamber, said chamber being connected to said air conditioning device (16a, 16b), which is able to deliver air inside said chamber so as to define said environment (11).

16. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it further comprises means to create, at least temporarily, continuous dynamic walls (28) able to create a circumscribed volume.

17. Apparatus as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it has a weight equal to some tens of kilograms and, once dismantled, has a volume of less than half a cubic meter, so as to be easily arranged in a container and also easily transported.

18. Method to condition the air contained in a circumscribed environment (11) defining a limited and circumscribed volume with respect to that of the surrounding room, characterized in that it comprises at least a first step to circumscribe said environment (11) and to insulate said environment (11) with respect to said surrounding room, and a second step to selectively condition the air contained in said limited and circumscribed volume by means of an air conditioning device (16a, 16b) based on the magneto-calorific effect.

19. Method as in claim 18, characterized in that said air conditioning device (16a, 16b) has a capacity comprised between about 20 units of refrigeration per hour and about 400 units of refrigeration per hour.